


Marionette

by illCat



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Angst and Romance, CRY ME A RIVER, College, College drop out, Dark, Dominance, Drama, F/M, Haruno Sakura-centric, Hurt/Comfort, Like really crazy, Marijuana, Mild Smut, Minor Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, References to Drugs, Romance, SasuSaku - Freeform, Sex, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Uchiha Sasuke-centric, sad rich boy, sasuke is crazy, there is porn later and there is plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:47:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 50,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29209092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illCat/pseuds/illCat
Summary: Everyone noticed how he manipulated her, everyone but her. AU
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Itachi, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Uchiha Itachi/Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 58
Kudos: 188





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Cross Posted from FF.net 2/2021_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Disclaimer: M for language at the moment_

**Chapter One**

* * *

Her roommates didn't really like him, which was why he was currently slipping through her bedroom window at 11 o'clock at night on a Thursday.

She had started leaving it slightly ajar when she realized he no longer preferred being let in through the front door.

Sasuke, for lack of better words, was a bit of a loose cannon. He had a temper that he did not appropriately keep in check on most days, and on others he had certain recreational habits that her roommates did not approve of in excess. (Though he liked to argue with her that those habits were partially responsible for keeping his temper at bay).

She was currently sprawled out on her plush queen-sized bed, engrossed in a current events article she was reading on her phone. If she had heard him come in, she had yet to acknowledge it. He unceremoniously kicked off his sneakers and made his way towards her.

The dim lighting in her room encased his face in shadow as he stood over the end of her bed watching her. After a couple minutes she lifted her eyes from the small screen she was so preoccupied by and gave him a questioning stare.

"What?" she asked.

He smirked and took her acknowledgement as an invitation to crawl over her body and invade her personal space. An inch away from her nose, he silently stared into her green irises. She raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

"Nothing," he said as he fell to the side nearest the wall.

"Then don't distract me!" she exclaimed.

She went back to her article as he raised his upper body to remove his white shirt. Tossing it off the bed near his shoes, he lay back down and looked over her shoulder at what she was reading. The material of his loose basketball shorts was sticking to her bare thigh, but she ignored it.

"You're reading about my brother?" he seethed as he abruptly snatched her phone.

She turned her head towards him as he hastily scrolled to the top of the write-up. A scowl marred his handsome features as a photo of his elder sibling stared back at him. The resemblance was uncanny.

"Fuck that guy," he said as he locked the device. Reaching over her, he placed it on her nightstand. She sighed at his childish reaction and turned to her right to switch off the bedside lamp. The streetlight outside cast a faint glow over his scowling features as she turned back towards him. She couldn't help but suppress a snicker. He turned into a little bit of a brat whenever the subject of his successful sibling was breached in his presence.

Sasuke was a little spoiled. It came as a result of growing up with money. His parents had paid for a year of his college tuition in full, yet he had failed out after only a semester and a half. Though he liked to brag to her that he aced every exam, the issue was that he never showed up to class. "Why should I, if I don't need to?" he would retort.

Itachi had grown up before their family came to prominence, and as a result his achievements and attitude towards life vastly differed from his. It was this that Sakura found intriguing. When the article mentioning the elder Uchiha had popped up on her feed, she couldn't help but click on it.

"Oh come on," she said. He scowled for a little longer as he penetrated her with his stare, both of them lying on their sides facing one another. He then abruptly reached over and pinched her exposed thigh, hard.

"OW!" she yelped. She slapped his hand away. "Stop that."

Incensed, she tried to turn over and face away from him. Before she could move, he slipped his hand under the back of her loose shirt (his shirt) and brought her closer until they were chest to chest. Since she was only wearing a pair of black silk panties, his action had exposed her rear, but neither of them paid this any mind.

Tucking her head under his chin, she felt his Adam's apple as he swallowed. "You're annoying," he mumbled. His voice had dropped an octave in preparation for sleep, and she could feel it vibrate through his chest onto hers. She tugged on the longer hair at the back of his head, but otherwise didn't respond. Nuzzling her nose into his neck, she inhaled his masculine scent.

"Where were you?" she whispered. He seemed tired and she wondered what he had been doing prior to his arrival.

"Around," he responded softly.

She dropped the subject. Lately he had been rather elusive when it came to his whereabouts, but she thought nothing of it. She had been swamped with wrapping up her finals in preparation for commencement. While Sasuke had fallen off early on, Sakura was so close to getting her degree that she could taste it. Just a couple more weeks.

* * *

The shrill ringing of her phone jolted both of them awake. Burrowing further into him she tried to feign sleep and ignore it, but the sound would not cease. He grumbled and squinted his eyes at the harsh morning sunlight now emitting from the window.

"Who the fuck is calling you?"

He blindly reached behind her to silence her phone, but as he lifted it he saw the caller name on the screen. Sluggishly tapping accept, he brought the phone to his ear.

"Naruto."

"What are you doing answering Sakura's phone, bastard?!"

The loud mouthed idiot was much too energetic, and Sasuke found himself distancing the device from his still sensitive ear.

"What do you want?"

"I have to meet him for brunch," Sakura muttered tiredly.

Giving no more heed to the conversation, she turned over. Her back now facing him, he eyed her silhouette before tuning back into the chatterbox on the line.

"...you're a real dickhead you know that? We have plans! And I need to know what to-"

"Call back later," he cut off.

"What the-hey wait, Sasu-"

Quickly thumbing the end call button, Sasuke put the phone on silent and uncaringly tossed it to the floor.

* * *

They were awoken an hour later by an incessant pounding on the front door. "What is that?" she asked groggily. From behind her, Sasuke tightened his grip on her waist. They heard Ino angrily stomping from her room to the entrance of the apartment, effectively putting a stop to the banging by swinging the door open so hard it ricocheted off the wall.

"I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" they heard her screech.

"Where's Sakura?" Naruto.

Sakura could just imagine the death glare Ino was probably giving him at that very moment. Suddenly the door to _her_ room was swinging open and Ino was screeching at her instead.

"Sakura, I swear to god if this jackass wakes me up one more ti-when did HE get here?!"

Noticing the dark haired Uchiha shacked up behind her roommate had her changing course.

Before Sakura could respond, Naruto shoved Ino to the side and barreled into the room. Pointing his finger right at her he said, "I'm not pointing fingers, but you were supposed to meet me half an hour ago!" he exclaimed.

"What time is it?" she asked blearily.

Ino, realizing she was now being ignored, threw her hands up with a frustrated growl and exited the room.

"Ungrateful...stupid...forehead."

The slamming of her door shook the walls of the apartment.

"HEY, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Their normally silent and aloof third roommate, Nara Shikamaru, had been roused by the pandemonium.

* * *

After shooing Naruto out of her room so she could get dressed, she bent over and picked her phone up off the floor. 10 missed calls from Uzumaki Naruto and one text from Yamanaka Ino. She didn't blame Naruto. She was nowhere near ready and she had left him high and dry for a couple extra hours of sleep in Sasuke's arms. Ino on the other hand, had probably sent her what was sure to be a reprimanding and aggressive message after retreating back to her bedroom.

Now facing the wall, Sasuke had twisted her blanket between his legs and was seemingly back to sleep. She took this as her cue to head towards her en-suite bathroom and quietly shut the door. After sitting on the edge of the tub to adjust the water temperature for her shower, she opened Ino's text before running the tap.

> **_"What the hell is wrong with you? First I get woken up by that loud IDIOT, then I come into your room and see that jackass all over you?! You told me you weren't seeing him anymore! After everything he's done to you, you just willingly invite him into your bed?! I told you before, I don't want him in my house!"_ **

Exasperated, Sakura quickly deleted the message in fear that Sasuke would see it and unleash his wrath. She had caught him looking through her phone on more than one occasion, and subconsciously, she had become cautious about what she kept stored on it.

After all, he was only being curious right?

* * *

_TBC.._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for intercourse. If you are offended by it or uncomfortable, please do not proceed._

**Chapter Two**

* * *

"This is lame," Sasuke stated as he sat across from Naruto at the restaurant.

They had been seated at a spacious window booth that had a pleasing view of the establishment's grassy patio. The interior of the eatery was warm and earthy, with a farm to table inspired menu. Kitschy yet stylish decor adorned the walls, and yet it somehow felt very clean and put together.

Sasuke had ended up tagging along with them citing lack of better things to do as his reasoning.

"Just cuz we're scholars and you're not, doesn't mean you gotta be butt hurt about it you jerk," was Naruto's smooth reply.

Seated on his right by the window, Sakura saw Sasuke tighten his grip on the rolled up set of silverware he had been in the process of unwrapping.

"What? Little scaredy-cat Sasuke couldn't wake up for class so he pussied out and stopped going to school? Gimme a break you bastard!"

With his stony glare, Sakura knew he was envisioning 500 different ways to strangle Naruto.

"What does it matter? I'm still smarter than you'll ever be." Sasuke responded icily.

Naruto and Sakura were both student reps on the board of directors for their university's various media publications. They had planned to meet for brunch to discuss the outline they would be proposing at the final meeting of their academic careers.

It was bittersweet really, which was why they wanted to commemorate it with a small outing. Terms of service only lasted one calendar year, but they had gained a lot of valuable experience.

Sasuke however, was not interested in the sentiment.

Thankfully the server interrupted them from their impending feud to ask if they were ready for drinks.

"I'll have a Bloody Mary please!" Sakura said cheerfully.

"And for you?" the waitress directed at Naruto.

"Oh. Uh... A mimosa! Do you have those?"

"Sure do. Can I see your ID miss?"

"Um yeah, one second." Sakura rummaged through her bag for her wallet as Sasuke uttered, "Coffee. Black."

Handing her ID to the server, the woman looked at both sides of it, eyeing it a little longer than necessary before handing it back.

"All right, thank you. Those will be out in a bit. I'll give you guys a little more time to look over the menu."

After she was out of earshot, Sakura leaned forward, "How come YOU never get carded?!" she asked exasperated.

"You kinda look like a little girl. I on the other hand, am probably looking pretty manly these days," he stated smugly as he rubbed the subtle, blond five o'clock shadow along his jaw.

"You look more like a loser to me." Sasuke muttered. The napkin that had been wrapped around his knife and fork was now ripped in half on the table.

Before they could start another needless quarrel, Sakura interjected. She dropped a thick-stapled outline on the table in front of Naruto, and from her bag pulled out an extra copy for herself to go over.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, underneath the table she had also rested her palm on Sasuke's knee, stilling the incessant tapping of his foot that had started as a result of Naruto's stabs at his ego.

The rest of the meal was uneventful. Afterwards, they drove Naruto home.

* * *

His favorite way to take her was from the back, as he was doing now. There was something animal and aggressive about it that he couldn't get enough of.

"Sakura..."

She turned her head and peered at him over a dainty shoulder. "H-huh?"

"Straighten out your back."

As she complied, he gripped her hips with renewed vigor and picked up the pace forcefully. He could see her hands fist the sheets in front of her as his new tempo jostled her. With her head now slightly angled backwards, the ends of her farce of a mane glided low, well past her shoulders. Her natural hair had no pigment, and he knew she dyed it regularly. Naruto lived in some sham fantasy land where he liked to prattle on about her being born with pink hair, but Sasuke knew better.

Regardless of that, his vantage point was excellent. Dominating her like this really got him off. He raised his left hand and brought it down on her ass for good measure.

"Are you… are you close yet?" she gasped.

"Do you want me to be?" he responded.

"No, it's just..."

" _What?_ " he asked sharply.

"N-nothing, keep going."

She didn't want to tell him that he was going too deep, that it hurt.

* * *

After what felt like hours, he abruptly pulled out and came on her back. Nudging her forward with his hand she collapsed face down on his bed in a huff. Shakily, her arms wrapped around a pillow as she turned her head to the side to watch him get off the bed and grab a roll of paper towels to clean them off.

Sakura looked at the outline of his broad shoulders. The muscles in his back rippled as he walked away and bent to grab the wayward roll off the floor. She still remembered vestiges of his body as a slim, gangly teenager, and did not miss it.

He looked more full this way and less like the eerie shadow that had followed her around when they were young. Her own figure had developed nicely as well. She had decent curves and a well-proportioned waist, with soft long hair. She hadn't however, really grown in height. He was much taller.

She sighed and stretched her body like a cat as he came back and leaned onto the dark sheets with one knee.

Wiping her off he said, "You didn't finish. Take care of yourself. I'll watch."

She scrunched her nose at him. "What? No!"

Sitting down next to her he grabbed her arm and flipped her over.

"Why? I want to see," he said as he gazed longingly at her naked front.

She sat up and gave him a chaste kiss at the corner of his mouth.

"I don't feel like it," she said as she climbed over him in search of her bra and panties. Knowing it would get him aroused all over again; she denied him, not in the mood for a second rough assault on her body that night.

He watched her struggle for a minute with his brows furrowed, before he fished her underwear out from underneath the sheets with ease.

"Don't sulk," she said as she grabbed it from his hands.

"I don't _sulk_ ," he grumbled, turning his face away.

She stood up to slip her nude colored undergarment up to her hips. On the side of the bed he was sitting on, he had planted his bare feet on the floor. She wedged her way between his open legs.

One petite hand on each knee, she bent to his eye level and whispered, "Yes you do," with a haughty smirk.

He growled and fisted his hand into the long hair at the back of her head. With his other hand he gripped the underside of her thigh and lifted her onto his lap and into a straddle.

She giggled in delight as her hands came to rest on his shoulders and nape. They kissed for a long time.

* * *

Sometime later, after they'd gotten dressed and aimlessly lounged about, he said, "I have to drive you back now."

"Why?" she asked curiously. It was a Friday night, and she had assumed that they would be spending the rest of the evening together.

"I have to be somewhere," he replied.

"Where?"

"Nowhere. Just come on."

She looked at him skeptically before gathering her bag and a loose hair tie that had come undone and fallen to the glossy, dark hardwood of his bedroom.

"There are like 50 of those in my drawer that you've left behind," he remarked.

She followed him out of his large room and through the elaborate property. His home was extravagant, yet the rest of his family was rarely ever there. Business kept them away. He was dressed casually in a plain v-neck and a worn in pair of dark, old jeans with simple shoes. She wondered where he was going.

Instead of heading towards the circular driveway at the front of the house, (where he had parked the sleek, high-end sedan they had been driving in all day) he took her through the back and down a flight of steps into the parking garage.

"Why are we taking the Jeep now?" she asked perplexed as he headed towards the older vehicle.

With his expressive eyes hidden beneath his unruly dark hair, he did not respond.

The distance from his home to her apartment was roughly 20 minutes. As he pulled up and put the car in park, he reached over to open the glove box above her exposed knees. The seat belt had pulled her flowing red summer dress up during the drive. Pulling out an envelope, he dropped it into her lap.

"Here, put this in the mailbox at the corner before you head up."

"Uh, okay. Why didn't you just pull up to it earlier?"

"I forgot," he said simply.

Unfastening her seat belt, she picked up the heavy parcel and the rest of her belongings before giving him a quick kiss on the lips and sliding out the passenger door.

He drove away as she backtracked a short block to drop it off for him.

* * *

_TBC..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for alcohol consumption, language and intercourse. If you are offended or uncomfortable by these themes, please do not proceed._

**Chapter Three _  
_**

* * *

After she'd fit her key through the lock and pushed open the door, Sakura's eyes were met with a slew of people loitering in various parts of their spacious living room and kitchen. The mood was merry, festive even.

Ino, who had been mid conversation with Tenten, put her champagne flute down and screamed, "SAKURA!"

She rushed towards her as Sakura closed the door.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked as she toed off her shoes.

"Leave those on, the floor is going to get sticky." Then, "We're having an impromptu party! Seniors, seniors, seniors!"

Ino had a slight blush on her cheeks; clearly she had already been drinking for some time. She was basically gushing in excitement. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Ino, some of these people graduated already," Sakura muttered, referring to people like Tenten and Neji. Both of whom were now in a deep conversation over Neji's impending graduate thesis.

"So what? They still live in town, and Neji's about to become like, a doctor. It's cause to celebrate!" Ino squealed.

"Are you guys talking about Neji's PhD?" Choji piped up from his spot on the leather couch.

"Yeah. His Pretty Huge Dick!" Kiba yelled as he vacated Sakura's bedroom.

Sakura could see a vein in Neji's forehead begin to twitch.

"Sakura, I kinda barfed in your bathroom," Kiba added. "I shotgunned too many beers."

He sluggishly plopped himself down next to Choji and attempted to grab some popcorn out of the bowl in the larger man's lap, but Choji, baring his teeth, barked at him to back off.

A look of disgust formed on Sakura's face.

"Wait wha-" before she could fume, Ino had grabbed her shoulders and steered her towards their roomy open walled kitchen.

"Saaaakura, you seem thirsty, here have some punch. I made it just the way you like it!"

Begrudgingly, Sakura accepted the drink and joined in on the small party.

* * *

Three hours and four strong drinks later, Naruto arrived with a case of beer and a weary looking Sasuke in tow. More people had shown up since Sakura had come home and most were mingling happily. By now, Shikamaru had come out from hiding in his room and was leaning against the stove next to her. He rolled his eyes at the sight of Sasuke.

"Great. Uchiha's here. Ino's gonna flip a shit," he muttered.

Sakura, whose back had been turned pouring herself more punch (Ino really did make it just the way she liked it) perked up.

"EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN," Naruto yelled. "You can now officially start the party. The man of the hour has arrived. ME!" He proclaimed as he pointed his thumb at himself.

"You're four hours late, everyone's obviously already wasted and doesn't care you idiot," Sasuke replied.

Wordlessly he grabbed the case from Naruto's hands and headed towards the fridge on Sakura's left to deposit the box.

Sakura eyed his taut arms as he opened the refrigerator and roughly shoved it inside. Tearing open the cardboard he grabbed two cans, and turning back around yelled at Naruto's "loser ass" to pay attention before abruptly throwing the can at his face. From across the room, Naruto caught it with one hand before it could collide with his nose and eyed the dark haired enigma with irritation.

"How about a little more warning next time you cock!" he yelled back.

He sat himself down next to Kiba, who looked like he was going to pass out at any moment. Looking pleased with himself, Sasuke pointed his gaze down to Sakura who was already halfway through her cup.

"How many drinks have you had?" he asked curiously.

A faint pink glow dusted her cheeks and her eyes were beginning to take on a glossy sheen. She put her finger to her chin for a moment, feigning deep thought.

"Three? Four? Five? I dunno, I lost count!" she hiccuped. Questioning him airily, she asked, "I thought you had to be somewhere?"

Ino, having disappeared for half an hour, had popped back into the living room after Naruto's commotion. She had her eyes murderously pinned on Sasuke and began making her way towards them. Shikamaru pushed off the stove and intercepted her before she could make a drunken, nonsensical scene.

"Ino, why don't you start a game for everyone to play or something?" he suggested.

Ino, whose attention span was very short at the moment, suddenly brightened up.

"Yes! Great idea Shika!" she exclaimed.

Sasuke opened his beer and took a large gulp.

Looking back at Sakura he said, "Yeah, I went. And I came back."

Sakura took a step towards him and sniffed. "You smell funny," she murmured.

Naruto, who had by now finished his first beer, overheard her as he pushed Sasuke away from the fridge to grab another.

"That's what I said when he picked me up! Kind of like he set a bunch of shit on fire right?"

Sasuke took another large gulp of his drink and crushed the empty can in his hand.

"Give me another one too," he stated.

"What, you tryina race me?" Naruto asked as he bent over and grabbed two more. "Here." He handed a can off to Sasuke.

"No," Sasuke said slowly. "I have to drive later. I just want one more."

Naruto chortled. "Yeah right, you're totally tryina race me. I'm gonna win. Everyone knows you're a lightweight."

Somehow, he always knew just what to say to push Sasuke's buttons. Looking for all the world like he was about to backhand Naruto, Ino's shrill voice cut over the din, demanding their attention.

"LISTEN UP! Beer pong tournament!"

Naruto yipped in excitement and ran towards her. Giddy like a small child, he jumped up and down in front of her awaiting the rest of her instructions.

"Everyone pick a partner so we can figure out brackets and make this official," she turned to Shikamaru, "And by us figuring out brackets, I mean you."

"Kiba! Wake up! Get the tables out of the supply closet and set them up!"

"Choji! Stop eating! Get the 100-pack of Solo cups out from-"

Sakura stopped listening. "I have to pee first!" she griped at no one in particular. She drunkenly made her way towards her room.

After she had disappeared from his sight, Sasuke placed his unopened beer on the black granite counter. Taking advantage of everyone's distracted attention, he followed.

* * *

As she flushed the toilet she noticed the various spots where Kiba had undoubtedly missed his mark and gotten vomit on.

She wrinkled her nose.

"Ugh, that's filthy. Why wouldn't he clean it?!" she muttered.

After washing her hands, she straightened a few flyaway hairs in the mirror before stepping back into her room, ready to rejoin the party.

Unprepared for the sudden forceful push that had her falling back against the wall, she gasped.

"Sasuke, wha-?"

He grabbed her wrists and flipped her so that her back was facing him. Guiding her hands so that they were flat against the wall, he then took hold of her hips and pulled her lower body towards him, effectively bending her in half.

Being drunk, she was disoriented and a little bit confused. Everything was happening so fast, and the sensations of his hands on her were leaving a torrid burning in their wake.

As he lifted the bottom of her loose dress to expose her panty covered ass, she struggled to put a sentence together.

"W-we already did it today. Wha-what are you doing?" she asked.

He ground his hard-on into her rear and bit her exposed shoulder.

"I want to do it again."

He kicked her legs a little farther apart as she heard him undo the zipper to his pants.

One hand slipped under her underwear to inspect her folds as the other pulled his straining erection from his boxers.

"You're pretty wet," he remarked. "But these are in the way."

Gripping the same nude undergarments from earlier, he roughly pulled them to the side until the fabric tore off her body.

"Hey, those were new!" she said exasperated.

"I'll get you other ones," he murmured as he used his fingers to spread her moisture around her opening.

Her heart was racing, this was not acceptable.

"But everyone's out there! They'll hear!"

"Then stay quiet," he growled.

And with that, he obtrusively slipped into her from behind. She stifled a moan. With one hand gripping her hip, he guided her to meet his demanding and forceful thrusts. He wrapped his other hand into her rosette locks and pulled her head back.

"T-the door..."

"I locked it," he said as he increased his speed.

She was having trouble staying silent. His momentum was driving her crazy and she was fighting a losing battle to stifle the whimpers threatening to escape her mouth.

They could hear the loud chatter of the party as he pulled out and pushed back into her.

With one hand still fisted in her hair, he moved the other from her hip to her clit.

"You're gonna come for me this time," he said into her ear.

"N-nuh."

She could feel her eyes rolling into the back of her head as the finger at her core coupled with the rhythm of his thrusts eventually brought her to a satisfying finish. Silently, she shuddered.

Once he felt her spasming around him, he came inside of her.

He let out a sigh of relief and wrapped both arms around her waist. Her breathing had not returned to normal and her hands were still against the cream colored wall. He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You're still on your birth control right?" he asked softly.

"Y-yes," she responded. "But you've made a mess. This is going to drip out of me for the next hour!" she huffed softly.

He smirked. He knew her rather brazen comment was a product of her inebriation. After lightly kissing her neck, he pulled out of her.

Shakily she pushed off the wall and turned around as he was yanking up the pants that had fallen to his ankles. Her tresses were tousled and the thin strap of her red dress was falling off her shoulder as she surveyed him. She looked thoroughly fucked.

"Where'd you go earlier?" she suddenly asked.

He buttoned his jeans and looked up at her silently. His hair, now longer than it had ever been, was windswept, and she had noticed while he was barreling into her that the faint smell of burning fire had still been eminent on his body.

He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers.

"Don't worry about it."

* * *

_TBC..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for language and mentions of sex. If you are offended, do not proceed._

**Chapter Four _  
_**

* * *

He was her first everything, but she was not his.

In high school, they had gotten in a bad fight right before summer started at the end of their junior year. By the time their last year of school had picked up again in the fall, everyone had heard rumors that he'd been around the block.

That was the start of Ino's disdain for him. While it had all upset Sakura immensely at the time, it did not bother her now.

They had not been involved then. They had just been close friends who cared (a little too deeply) for one another. That in itself was the root of the problem. At 17, neither of them had a full handle of their emotions or an understanding of themselves as people. Their precarious friendship had imploded on itself in a dramatic and public argument that was witnessed by half the student body. She could still remember the shrill tone of her voice as she screamed at him and the hard edge to his face, as if he was contemplating smacking her. Naruto's look of horror as he watched from the sidelines, open mouthed and helpless, was rather unforgettable too. It still mortified her to think about.

He had never been her boyfriend. He hadn't been obligated to stay faithful to her. She knew he made rather stupid decisions when he was angry, and after their fight, sleeping with a handful of older women who weren't her was one of them.

It was hard to say how they'd picked up the pieces from something so damaging. Naruto was largely responsible for their reconciliation. At first he had been respectful. He understood that he had to spend time with them separately from then on. But as their senior year progressed, Naruto got more and more agitated about splitting his time. He missed when all of them could be together without issue.

If he was talking in the hallway to Sasuke, he couldn't wave at Sakura. If he was eating lunch with Sakura, they had to be at least five tables apart from Sasuke. If Sasuke wanted to go to a party, they had to make sure Sakura wouldn't be there. If Sakura wanted to go out for coffee or food they had to avoid all of the spots that they'd have a chance of running into Sasuke.

The list went on and on and eventually Naruto got fed up. Right before their graduation he tricked the both of them into meeting him in an empty classroom and gave them a vigorous and haunting piece of his mind. Throwing in that their selfishness was literally driving him insane might've helped his case too. He had started seeing the school guidance counselor who had eventually referred him to someone that prescribed him low dose anti-depressants.

At present, Naruto no longer needed to take those; but he was still rather close to that counselor. Jiraiya had become somewhat of a mentor to him after that, and Naruto had no hard feelings towards Sasuke and Sakura because of the meaningful relationship he had gained as a result of their idiocy.

At first their armistice had been awkward. Most of their interactions were noticeably forced. But as their summer before college progressed, it became more natural. Soon they fell back into something comfortable. Naruto was more than relieved.

Though the comfort was a little too short lived for Naruto's tastes. A couple months after they started college, Naruto began noticing the pointed looks Sasuke had started directing at their pink haired friend when he thought she wasn't paying attention. That coupled with his total lack of empathy for any guy that approached her (even if it was something as innocent as asking her the time) was a dead give away to Sasuke's desired intentions.

It didn't take long for Sakura to notice it either, and by the start of their second semester she allowed him to take her out on a date.

She had made him wait a year before she gave into his more explicit sexual advances. After what he did, part of her enjoyed seeing him squirm at her continuous denial to all of her body. The tension was palpable and sometimes hilarious. On the inside she would clap with glee at his expense. The other part of her wanted to test him to see if he would break.

Did he just want sex? Was he going to leave her if he didn't get it? Yet it got to a point where she herself was consumed with so much want, that she permitted him to indulge in that sacred piece of herself. It was fiery and deep and explosive and immensely overwhelming. And after their consummation, their fight from years ago made more sense to her. She understood her feelings.

Ino of course had been suspicious of him for that entire period of courtship and nothing he did was going to change her attitude towards him. Dropping out of his program didn't make her think of him any better either.

_("He's a real keeper Sakura. I can only imagine what you tell your mom when you take him home, 'Hey mom, here's my boyfriend. He barely graduated high school and lives in a giant mansion all by himself because he's mean and his family doesn't love him. He fucked a bunch of 30 year-olds he met on the Internet when he was 17, but I'm okay with it!' Like jeez Sakura, have some self-respect!")_

Ino's official dismissal of all things Sasuke occurred after he had waltzed into their apartment one morning, drunk and high as a kite with a lit joint in his hand. It would have been semi-acceptable on any other day, but Ino and Shikamaru's fathers had stopped by to make sure the property was in good shape for their kids to live in. Needless to say, Ino spent a month trying to convince her father that he had been a lost stranger who had walked into the wrong unit. _"Dad, I would never associate with anyone that gets drunk before noon!"_ (Comically confused at her ejection of him, Sasuke had stumbled around the building and instead climbed in through Sakura's bedroom window, giving her a heart attack before abruptly passing out on top of her).

In the past year he had been getting more aggressive with her, and she wasn't entirely sure why. At first, their sex life had been comprised of a lot of meaningful eye contact, slow fucking and laced hands. He would occasionally murmur that he loved her and would kiss her softly. It made her melt. But gradually, it had evolved into something more primal. He would slap her ass and pin down her arms and pull her hair. He'd bite at her lip and command her to contort her body into bizarre positions to appease his arousal. It made her melt in an entirely different way.

She had a vague suspicion that her blossoming success compared to his lack thereof pissed him off and in turn he channeled that frustration into dominating her in the bedroom. But recently, as he got more and more cryptic with what he was doing when he wasn't with her, she couldn't help but think it was something more. Should she be worried? Was Naruto worried?

More than once Ino had asked her what Sasuke did with all his free time.

"I don't know, something on the computer," she would respond offhandedly.

Because it had been true. At first he had been eager to share some of the random yet useful web-based programming skills he had picked up from hours of research. Before dropping out, he had dabbled in different aspects of computer science so it made sense to her.

But in the last year, he had stopped talking about much of it. He had a couple laptops and a netbook he was bizarrely protective of but that was about it. Any time she caught him absorbed in working on one of them, he would abruptly slam the screen shut and glare at her.

She liked to think that after three years of seriously dating him she understood a lot of his weird quirks more than most. But these new developments in his behavior were throwing her off.

* * *

After brushing her hair and straightening out her clothes, Sakura rejoined the party only to witness one of the beer pong tables haphazardly upturned on the ground. Red cups were littered everywhere and the smell of beer had permeated the air, the liquid quickly drying into the hardwood. Naruto and Kiba were engaged in a heated shouting match over the remnants of the game gone awry, and the rest of the party was adamantly ignoring them by trying to peacefully continue playing at the other table.

Baffled, Sakura made her way towards the kitchen to pour herself a large glass of water. She was starting to feel dehydrated and figured that more alcohol was probably a bad idea. Shikamaru's bedroom door was firmly shut; probably finding the beer pong situation to be more troublesome than anything, he had likely retreated to the safety of his oasis.

Ino was happily seated in a pale, dark-haired man's lap on the couch, animatedly jabbering about her dreams and aspirations. As Naruto caught sight of Sasuke vacating Sakura's room (he had waited 10 minutes so they wouldn't arouse suspicion), he turned his attention from Kiba towards him.

"There you are you pussy! I knew you ran off cuz you were too scared to face me in beer pong!"

Sasuke, not biting the bait, pointedly eyed the mess on the floor before approaching Sakura by the kitchen sink.

"I think I want to head home," he said.

Disappointed, Sakura nodded her head in acceptance.

"Do you want to come with me?" he asked. "Your place is a shithole right now."

After a moment of contemplation, she nodded her head again.

"Go pack a bag, I'll wait."

Sakura went back into her room to put together some clothes and toiletries. In her state, she couldn't remember which of her folders had the reading material she needed to review before Monday, so she stuffed all of them into her overnight bag too. She could hear Naruto attempting to goad Sasuke into a frivolous battle again, so she finished quickly and returned to his side. They headed towards the front door together after she discreetly said goodbye to some of the guests.

"Hey, hey! Where are you guys going!?" Naruto yelled. "How am I supposed to get home?" he whined.

"You can sleep on my bed Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, before Sasuke quickly shut the door to drown him out.

Placing his hand on the small of her back, he led her towards his car.

* * *

She woke up in the morning with her insides churning. She was dressed in an over-sized shirt of Sasuke's with nothing underneath. How they had gotten there was a bit of a blur for her. She was appreciative that Sasuke had barely drank anything, but she hazily remembered him having to pull over more than once so she could dry heave out the door of his sleek sedan. _"Why did you switch cars again?"_ she had slurred after righting herself.

Sasuke was next to her clad only in his boxers, sleeping on his stomach. She abruptly shot up and ran towards his luxe, attached bathroom to vomit loudly into the toilet. She groaned in agony as her hands gripped the sides of the porcelain. She had not been this hungover in a VERY long time. She was going to kill Ino next time she saw her. By now, her retching had woken up Sasuke, who was leaning against the bathroom door eyeing her bemusedly.

"Too much to drink?" he asked smartly.

She shot him a look of utter contempt. His hair was sleep tousled, but he still looked good. She on the other hand, knew she probably looked like shit. She could feel her eyes watering from the strain on her esophagus.

"Fuck y-" she felt more bile coming up the back of her throat and spit it out.

Sasuke had left his post and returned shortly with a bottle of water. He opened the grandiose medicine cabinet over the chic, double sink vanity and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen. Shaking two pills out, he brought them to her with the water. She accepted them graciously from her spot on the floor.

"Why don't you take a bath?" he said. "I'll go to the store and get stuff to make breakfast."

She eyed him darkly.

"You think I can even think about eating right now?!" Just the thought of food had her stomach twisting into knots.

"It'll make you feel better," he stated firmly. "What do you want?"

She moaned in discomfort. "I don't care, anything. Surprise me."

Flushing the toilet, she struggled to get to her feet. Ultimately she gave up and remained sprawled out on the pristine floor. Sasuke's bathroom was three times the size of hers and much nicer. It had an elevated bathtub (big enough to fit two people comfortably) with a wall behind it comprised entirely of smart glass. At the press of a button, the transparency could be adjusted to clear or opaque. There was also a spacious glass shower with a fancy waterfall shower head. The bathroom walls were a slate gray, and the marble tile on the ground was black.

Now fully dressed, he returned to the bathroom to help her draw her bath. He 'tsked' at her before scooping her up off the ground and seating her on the flat edge of the white tub. He made sure to grab the water bottle too and leave it in reach.

"How hot do you want the water?" he asked as he turned the knobs.

She reached over to place her hand under the running faucet and nodded at him when it was her desired temperature. Plugging the drain, he turned back towards her and helped her raise his shirt up and over her head. He stared at her exposed chest for a second too long before turning to leave.

"Wait!" she yelled.

He stopped in his tracks and inclined his head towards her, signifying that he was listening.

"Didn't I leave some bubble bars here before?" she asked hopefully.

"...bubble bars..." he grumbled.

He opened the mod cabinet underneath the sink and pulled out a rather fruity looking wicker basket full of said bubble bars and handed it to her. She pulled at his shirt before he could back away and kissed him on the cheek.

He grinned, "You smell like puke."

* * *

This, she thought, was a great idea. She closed her eyes in happy contentment as the fragrant bubbles soothed her sore body. Once in a while, Sasuke was sweet she thought. _But more_ _often than not_ , _he was a jackass of epic proportions._

As she hummed merrily, she thought she heard faint, approaching footsteps. That was odd. She could have sworn Sasuke had only been gone for 15 minutes tops. The store was at least 10 minutes away. Ignoring it, for she knew no one was home, she leaned her head back against the tile and let out a relaxed sigh.

No... those were definitely footsteps in his room now.

She perked up and stared at the open doorway in apprehension. Hearing her own voice along with a simultaneous deep tenor inquire, "Sasuke?" a sharply dressed Uchiha Itachi stepped into her sight.

* * *

_TBC..._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for adult themes. If you are offended or uncomfortable, do not proceed._

**Chapter Five**

* * *

Sakura yelped and slunk down farther into the large tub. She was thankful for the plethora of bubbles that covered her modesty.

She had met and interacted with Itachi only a handful of times since she was a young girl, and in each of those instances she had most obviously never been naked.

Unperturbed by her state of undress, Itachi took a small and cautious step into the bathroom. His black slacks were crisply pressed and the sleeves of his black button up were meticulously rolled up to his elbows. The top two buttons were undone, and she could faintly spot the glimmer of a silver chain around his neck.

His hair was loosely tied at his nape and the bottom disappeared into the back of his shirt.

His long-lashed eyes had widened a fraction at finding her in there instead of Sasuke, but other than that he did not seem bothered by it.

"Sakura," he said simply.

This was awkward, she thought. She hadn't seen Itachi since she had started dating Sasuke three years ago, and she wasn't sure if he even knew about it. Regardless, she was very wet and very naked and this was her lover's brother, standing there like they were casually discussing the weather.

"Y-yes? Hello," she responded. She could feel her cheeks growing hot.

He cocked his head to the side.

"Where is Sasuke?"

"H-he went to the store to get groceries," she squeaked.

"Ah. I see. I will wait for him downstairs then. I apologize for disturbing your bath."

Tucking his hands into his pockets he turned his dress shoe clad feet and added, "I am a fan of bubble bars myself actually."

With that he exited the room. She heard his footsteps fade into the distance. Letting out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, she slumped her shoulders. _That was too much_ , she thought. She grabbed the bottle of water Sasuke had given her earlier, and chugged the rest of it.

* * *

After she had pruned considerably, Sakura got out of the tub and cocooned herself into a soft, over-sized towel from the glass linen cabinet in the corner of the bathroom. Rummaging through her overnight bag, she selected a flowy white shirt with a lace bralette, and a comfortable pair of black shorts to change into. She left Sasuke's bedroom and cautiously headed down the grand staircase.

Approaching the lavish kitchen, the sound of voices caused her to falter around the corner of the wide hallway.

"You could have called," Sasuke's irritated voice carried over.

"You don't answer my calls," Itachi stated.

"Because you call all the time!" he expressed, annoyed.

There was a pause and she heard the clink of a glass being put down on the counter.

"Now how does this conversation make any sense?" Itachi asked.

She could hear Sasuke grumbling under his breath and rummaging through what was most likely the grocery bags containing his purchases.

"I saw Sakura," he added thoughtfully.

Another pause.

"What do you mean you saw Sakura?" Sasuke asked stiffly.

"She was in the bath."

Sakura heard something metal fall to the ground and clatter. As Sasuke most likely bent to pick it up, Itachi continued his rankling.

"Where have you been getting your money recently?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke bit at him.

"Your funds. You have not accepted anything from me for the past six months. How are you buying things, paying the bills? Where is it coming from?" he questioned.

"None of your business," Sasuke ground out.

Surprised, Sakura did not know what to make of this new information. She had assumed Sasuke was being taken care of by his family this entire time. Where was he getting his money if not from Itachi?

She heard Itachi sigh, "I will be staying here for a couple of days. I have things to take care of in town."

"It's your house, do whatever you want," Sasuke said scathingly.

Sakura allowed another minute or two of silence before turning the corner and making her presence known.

Itachi was seated on one of the mod, dark brown bar stools on one side of the long kitchen island. He had poured himself a rather small amount of nice whiskey into a glass, the bottle sitting uncapped on the cream counter. Sasuke on the other hand, was hovering over a pile of groceries he had moved from the counter to the dining table by the kitchen's bay window nook.

Clearly trying to distance himself from his older brother, Sakura noticed the rather frantic way his hands were moving as he diced potatoes for hash browns.

Sasuke glanced at her as she came towards him, before pointing at the other bags.

She fished out the carton of eggs from one bag. Then removed the freezer-paper wrapped packages of bacon and sausage he had no doubt acquired from the butcher.

Knowing Sasuke was too much of a jerk to ask himself, she turned towards Itachi and asked if he was hungry. Sasuke glared at her in distaste.

* * *

As they sat down to eat, Itachi focused his attention once again on Sakura.

"What have you been up to Sakura? I have not seen you in a while."

Sasuke's grip on his knife was worrying, the knuckles on his hand were turning white.

"It has been a while hasn't it?" she mused. "I'm finishing my bachelor's degree in biology. I should be done in a couple weeks," she said.

She couldn't hide the excitement from leaking out of her voice.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and aggressively shoved a piece of sausage into his mouth.

"Congratulations," Itachi murmured. "What are your plans for afterwards?"

Sakura chewed for a moment, picking her words carefully.

"Well I'm kind of intrigued by the biotech industry, but I'm not entirely sure how to get my foot in the door to do it. I might take a break for a couple months and then look for work," she responded.

He ruminated for a while before saying, "I have a number of clients that focus on that kind of research, I can make some introductions if you would like."

Sasuke dropped his utensils on his plate with a clang and loudly pushed his chair back.

Sakura and Itachi glanced at him briefly before choosing to ignore him.

"Oh, that's right! I was actually reading an article about that the other day!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly.

Sasuke stomped out of the kitchen, but not before he whisked the bottle of liquor off the counter and took it with him. They heard his loud steps disappearing down the hall and up the staircase, undoubtedly to seek sanctuary in his bedroom.

Itachi's mouth turned into a subdued frown.

"How is he?" he questioned.

Sakura was not sure how to respond. She thought for a short time, eyeing his face that looked so much like Sasuke's, but at the same time so different. It was more mature and less hateful.

"He-he's been kind of weird to be honest," she said finally, voice hushed.

"Hm. I see," he said pensively.

"You should go up and check on him, I'll take care of these," he finished, gesturing at the plates on the table.

She nodded as she got up, making her way upstairs.

* * *

As she entered his room, she found Sasuke leaning against his headboard, taking swigs from the bottle of whiskey. At this point, it was barely past noon. While Itachi had poured himself a minuscule amount, Sasuke had already cleared one-fourth of the bottle.

"Shut the door," he snapped.

She did as he asked, then cautiously approached him. He was like a wild animal, her instincts told her to run for fear that he would attack. He slowly turned his head to look at her, slamming the bottle down on his dark, oak nightstand with a little more force than necessary.

Any trace of his charming behavior from that morning had long since disappeared with the arrival of Itachi.

"Are you really going to take a job from him?" he asked snidely.

"Huh? I don't know. We were just making conversation," she offered.

"Suck me off," he suddenly demanded.

"What?" she asked surprised.

"I said... Get over here, and suck me off," he repeated.

She eyed him warily. "I spent the whole morning throwing up, I don't think it's a good idea to choke on your dick in my mouth right now!"

He gave her an incredulous look before standing up and reaching towards her.

Placing his hands on her shoulders, he pushed her down until she was on her knees in front of him.

She looked up at him in annoyance.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

He put his hand on her cheek, caressing the skin there with his thumb as he looked into her green eyes.

"Very," he said.

Scowling, she timidly brought her hands up to the waistband of his loose black pants and pulled him out. He watched her silently from above. The lace from the bralette covering her cleavage peaked out from underneath her top, effectively turning him on.

His erection was straining, and she placed one hand at his base before taking a tentative lick at the head. Slowly taking more of him in her mouth; she started a slow and comfortable rhythm, bobbing her head back and forth.

With the hand on her cheek now lowered to the side of her neck, he used his other to grip the hair at the top of her head.

"Relax your throat."

As she complied, he began to make quick work of fucking her mouth. Her hands came up to grip the fabric at the edge of his shirt as she shut her eyes and willed herself not to gag.

"Look at me," he said.

As her lashes fluttered open, she peered up at him again. He then guided one of her hands towards the underside of his shaft, placing it over his balls.

She could feel them tightening as she lightly massaged them, signifying that he was close.

His midnight eyes hooded in pleasure, he pulled out of her mouth without warning and came on her face.

She gasped in shock.

"Sasuke! What's your problem?!" she huffed, blinded. Pushing off her knees in agitation she quickly went into his bathroom to wash it off. She brushed her teeth for good measure, and coming back into the room found him once again relaxed on his mattress, looking smug.

She shook her head at him in disbelief and grabbed her folders from her bag before approaching the bed and lying down on her stomach at his feet. He lifted his legs and rested them on her backside.

"You brought homework?" he asked.

"Yes. I have a final next week," she said curtly.

Closing his eyes, he dozed off as she studied.

* * *

_TBC..._


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for intercourse and mentions of drug use. If you are offended by these themes, please do not proceed._

**Chapter Six _  
_**

* * *

After she had been studying for a while, her eyes had slowly started to droop. Sasuke had not stirred since she had planted herself there and the lull in intensity was a welcome change. _Maybe he should drink a quarter bottle of whiskey and get a blow job more often if it's going to sedate the shit out of him_ , she thought. Still feeling off from the previous night's debauchery, she had rested her head in her crossed arms and promptly fallen asleep.

When she next awoke, it was dusk. Through the skylight on the high ceiling, the setting sun had bathed the room in a warm glow. She blinked her eyes open and turned her head to the side, finding Sasuke's sleeping face mere inches away from her own. At some point he had reoriented himself so that he was next to her at the foot of the bed. Lying on his side facing her, his long legs hung off the edge of the mattress. His left hand was loosely tucked underneath his chin, while his right was resting in the small space between their bodies. Her folders were no longer in front of her, he had moved them to the floor.

She turned towards him and studied his face as he slept. Noting that he looked less and less like the broken little boy she grew up with and more like a man that had been haphazardly glued back together, she eyed the sharpness of his features; the slope of his patrician nose and the length of his sooty eyelashes.

Almost as if he had felt the weight of her stare in his sleep, the hood of his eyes lifted partially and he stared back at her from behind his half-lidded retinas.

Slowly he brought the hand that had been resting between them up to her face, lightly caressing her skin with his fingertips. It ghosted down the column of her throat, brushing past her chest and sternum until it came to rest on her abdomen.

"...love you," he said.

Smiling softly, she leaned forwards and rubbed her nose against his before pecking his lips.

"I know."

Moving his hand to her lower back he pulled her over and flipped them so that she was resting on his torso.

She pressed her ear into his chest, listening to the slow beat of his heart as his blood pumped through it. Picking up her head, she brought her hand to his face, and gingerly, began kissing him. Resting one hand on her lower back and the other near her shoulder blade, he embraced her as he lazily kissed her back, allowing her to lead.

She pulled away for air and ran her fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his eyes and forehead. From this close up his heterochromia was more apparent, one dark eye a slightly different hue than the other.

Slowly, he became more alert and watched her movements carefully.

Pushing back from him a little, she sat up on his middle. Adjusting to her new position, his palms dropped from her back to her hips. With a grip on each side of her, his hands almost met behind her, making her feel small as she straddled him.

Feeling heat between her legs, she maintained eye contact with him and slowly ground herself into his crotch. The hands at her hips tightened momentarily before becoming slack, but otherwise he did nothing but gaze back at her.

Starting a steady rhythm of sensually moving her hips in a circle over him, she moved her hands to grip his forearms.

After a couple minutes he began responding by matching her movement with a subtle upwards thrust into her center. She could feel him hardening through his pants. Suddenly she couldn't get enough of feeling him against her, and her movements became rather frantic.

He grinned lopsidedly for a second before stilling her and telling her to slow down.

"I just woke up," he said, his voice still laced with sleep. "I'll end up finishing before you can even start if you don't."

She pouted at him cutely before ripping off her shirt and shorts. Underneath, her panties matched the black lace bralette over her chest.

He could see her nipples hardening through the lace and brought his hands up to pinch and pull at them.

She moaned softly before batting them away and tugging at his shirt, wordlessly telling him she wanted it off. He lifted his torso to pull it off then lay back down.

She ran her hands up his chest and squeezed before deciding she was through with foreplay and wanted him inside of her.

"Are you wet enough?" he asked as she pulled at his pants and boxers, releasing him.

He kicked his pants off his legs, then pushed back her underwear with his finger and dipped it into her slit.

"Yes," she said as she watched his face darken.

He helped her remove her panties before she guided his length towards her entrance.

Lifting her hips up from his body, she brought them down and impaled herself on him with a gasp.

His eyes fluttered shut as she began riding his dick. Again he brought a hand up to her breasts and pinched, this time she let him.

With her hands on his shoulders, she lifted herself up and down at a comfortable pace. Every so often she rotated her hips in a circular motion, satisfied by the sound of his sharp inhalation at the movement.

As he noticed her begin to tire, he flipped them so he was on top. Still inside of her, he laced their fingers together and gently pinned her arms above her head before he began moving. He went slowly, taking his time.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and let him rock them both to completion.

* * *

As she lie across his chest, basking in the serenity of their post coitus afterglow, he said, "Ino called you like five times."

"When?" she asked.

"I don't know, I turned your phone off because it was annoying and I was trying to sleep."

She glared before demanding him to give her the device.

He sat up and reached into the drawer of his nightstand. Pulling out one of her hair ties, he playfully flung it at her before retrieving her phone and plopping it into her lap.

"Real cute," she muttered as she powered it on.

Five texts from Yamanaka Ino. One voicemail message. Six missed calls.

What was going on?

She opened the texts first.

> **04:00am: "Skua whr uo go? Why is narutsard in ur bdd"**
> 
> **10:30am: "Sakura!"**
> 
> **11:00am: "Hey, call me when you see this."**
> 
> **02:00pm: "I'm getting annoyed, pick up the phone"**
> 
> **03:00pm: "YOU BETTER COME HOME AND HELP ME CLEAN THIS SHIT UP, OR ELSE"**

Her voicemail pretty much said the same thing.

She looked up at Sasuke and said, "I think I have to go home, Ino needs help fixing the trashed apartment."

"Maybe it's been cleaned already, ask her before you make me drive you all the way back," he suggested.

He swung his legs over the bed and stood up, stretching his lean arms over his head.

"I'm gonna shower," he yawned as he disappeared into his bathroom.

After quickly texting Ino to ask, she scrambled to join him. The stickiness between her legs and sheen of sweat on her skin was irritating and they had not showered together in a long time.

His back was turned under the spray of water as she tiptoed into the bathroom. Yanking her bralette off and dropping it to the floor, she approached the spacious shower and rapped on the glass.

He inclined his head to the side before waving his hand at her to join him.

As she stepped into the steam he guided her so her smaller form was situated in front of him. She leaned her back against his wet front. They both liked their showers hot.

"Want me to wash your hair?" he asked.

"No. You got it all tangled last time," she said as she smoothed down the now wet strands.

"That's because I was trying to piss you off," he said nonchalantly.

Looking over her shoulder, she glared at him for the umpteenth time.

He grinned before reaching above her head for shampoo. Moving them backwards a step so they were out of the water stream, he squeezed some liquid out before putting it back. His hands working the lather into her hair was comforting and she closed her eyes in contentment.

* * *

After they had washed one another and returned to his room, she checked her phone and told him that Ino had indeed refused to clean the mess without her.

He sighed in irritation as he toweled off and went towards his dark drawers to pull out clean boxer briefs.

"Fine, get dressed," he said.

* * *

After he had dropped her off, she entered the apartment to find it in even worse a state than when she had left.

It wreaked of stale beer with empty cans and cups littered everywhere.

"Ino!" she yelled.

"What? What?!" she grumbled, popping her head out of her and Shikamaru's shared bathroom.

They had been close friends since they were children (going as far as having embarrassing photos of them bathing together as toddlers in their underwear) and as such did not mind sharing the space. For nostalgia's sake, one of these photos was framed and hung over their toilet.

"What the hell is this? If you had cleaned it sooner it wouldn't smell this bad and the beer would have been easier to get out of the floor!" she exclaimed as she almost dropped her bag on the counter. Thinking better of it after eyeing the surface, she went into her room to deposit it.

Based off a quick scan, Naruto hadn't done anything too damaging in there, though she had yet to inspect her bathroom.

Coming back into the living room, she saw that Ino had procured a mop and bucket and was in process of measuring out an adequate amount of floor cleaner.

"Well, I'm not gonna suffer alone," Ino said in irritation. "This is grotey."

"It was your party," Sakura muttered under her breath as she pulled a couple garbage bags out of the supply closet.

Separating one for recycling and one for trash she began picking things up off the floor.

"Who cares? You live here too!" Ino said. "Shikamaru ran off around noon and hasn't come back. That jerk, probably too lazy to clean. And YOU disappeared. Where have you been all day?" she questioned.

Sakura eyed a particularly questionable liquid floating in an abandoned cup before tossing it and muttering that she was with Sasuke.

"What a surprise," Ino grumbled as she began mopping the areas Sakura had cleared.

After a moment's pause Sakura shared, "Itachi walked in on me in the bathtub."

"WHAT?!" Ino screeched. "Spill, tell all! Did he hop in there with you and whisk you away into hot older brother land making you forget all about that loser Sasuke? Did you moan in ecstasy at his skilled hands and scream 'YES, YES, YES!'" she asked excitedly.

Shikamaru chose that moment to walk into the apartment... Then promptly walked right back out.

The girls looked at each other and giggled.

Shaking her head with a faint blush Sakura said, "No Ino, my life isn't a soap opera. I'm not having torrid threesomes with Sasuke and his brother. He just wanted to know where Sasuke was and I told him he went to get groceries. That's about it."

Ino's expression first morphed into glee. "Who said anything about threesomes you slut!?"

Sakura could feel her face burning. _That's not what she had meant!_

Ino then pouted in disappointment. "Whatever. That is so not hot. Groceries? Come on Sakura, tell me you showed him a little thigh!"

"Ino!" she said exasperated. "He's my boyfriend's brother, it's not an option. And even if it was, I'm faithful," she huffed as she tied up the full garbage bag.

"Well your boyfriend's a loser and his brother is not so womp, womp. Honestly Sakura, you deserve so much better than him!"

Sakura could feel herself getting irritated at the direction the conversation was going in.

"You don't get it," she said softly. She went towards the kitchen to get disinfectant wipes from underneath the sink. As she cleaned off the counter, Ino silently finished mopping.

* * *

That Monday, after she'd sat through a particularly grueling final, she found herself walking across the campus quadrangle in a daze. The sun was blinding her and she'd forgotten her sunglasses, but the early summer breeze was nice against her skin.

She was adjusting her tote on her shoulder when she heard Naruto's voice yelling for her attention on a patch of grass up ahead.

He was drinking a smoothie and sitting with Kiba, who had his dog sprawled across his lap. Both had a lecture 30 minutes prior in an adjacent building, she knew. Kiba's apartment was not very far so he walked Akamaru on the quad frequently. He must've grabbed him after class.

Sakura plopped down next to Naruto and immediately reached for his smoothie. She was thirsty.

"As I was saying," Kiba stated, "It's a website, where you can buy anything."

Naruto looked at him like he had grown two heads.

"You mean like Amazon?" he asked baffled.

"No you idiot. I know how to use fucking Amazon," Kiba said irritated.

"I mean. Like _anything_ ," he repeated. Raising his eyebrows and giving Naruto a look.

"Anything?" Naruto questioned.

"Anything," Kiba affirmed.

Sakura slurped on the smoothie before saying, "What, like drugs?"

Kiba looked at her excited.

"Drugs, porn, guns, mercenaries, poisons, organs, complex hacking tutorials, fake watches, elephant tusks... You name it, they've got it," he said rapidly. "Shino was trying to find a rare bug venom online, found out about it, and told me."

Naruto looked at him in wonderment.

"What? How is that possible? And also ew, why would you mention organs you freak?"

Kiba rolled his eyes at him.

"I'm just telling you what they have. I don't want to order organs you asshole." He continued, "It's like... An online black market. People sell stuff anonymously and you can buy and pay for it anonymously. Except I have no idea how it works or how to use it," he said, put out.

Just then, Shikamaru approached from behind them. He had been trudging up the walkway and by the sad slump of his ponytail, was most obviously in need of a good lay down and a cigarette.

Sure enough he dropped his backpack into the grass near them and propped his head on it. Staring up at the clouds he lit up a square and blew the smoke out.

Handing Naruto back his smoothie Sakura asked, "Don't you have a final right now?"

"Finished early," he said between puffs.

As if that set off a light bulb off over Kiba's head, he turned to the smoking genius.

"Hey Shikamaru!" he said excitedly. "You're smart aren't you? You would know how to use it! Have you heard of The Hidden Mist?"

Looking bored, Shikamaru took another puff before saying, "Yeah, I've heard of it."

Naruto intrigued, perked up.

"So how does it work?" Kiba continued.

Looking at Kiba and Naruto, he put out his rapidly diminishing cigarette before pulling out another one and tucking it behind his ear.

"You have to use a special browser to access it. The site is located in the Dark Web. The browser encrypts your IP address. It's troublesome and too much effort," he said briefly.

"In English brainiac," Naruto said confused.

"You guys are the two dumbest possible people to explain this to," Shikamaru grumbled. "Okay think of it this way. Encryption is a way to make data more secure. With me so far?"

They nodded.

"When you use a normal browser, you visit a website and that website will record your user data. Stuff like where you're located and what browser and hardware you're using. They get that from your network's IP. Following?"

Kiba nodded, but Naruto took an extra minute to descramble it all in his head before agreeing.

"Your IP is your computer's unique numerical label. That's how computers connect with each other to share data in the first place. The router your computer connects to represents your network. Your IP connects to that and the router's network IP connects to the Internet beyond."

By now Shikamaru was in full out lecture mode. He was a teaching assistant after all, and secretly enjoyed it immensely.

"If someone like the government or a really skilled hacker got a hold of your network's IP address, they could use it to find out more about you and what each computer on your network is doing. Like what other sites you're looking at, what you're downloading, credit card info you've entered for purchases, how you're spending your time online and more."

Kiba looked thoughtful for a moment. "So you're saying that special browser you need to get to The Hidden Mist encrypts all that personal data so the government can't trace anything back to you?"

"Pretty much," Shikamaru said. "It jumbles your identifiers through thousands of different networks and servers, making your web activity secure and anonymous. But simply put, it's a pain in the ass."

Kiba looked crestfallen. "Man I thought all our weed drought problems were solved. I knew it was too good to be true. A website that sells anything my ass."

Naruto, still half confused said nothing. He kind of got it? But he didn't? He looked at Sakura, "Did you understand that?"

"Kind of," she said thoughtfully. She turned to Shikamaru.

"Something like that would still have risk wouldn't it?" she asked.

"Of course," he said. "It's first of all, absurdly illegal. The site has moderators who keep everything moving and settle disputes, but no one really knows who they are in real life. There's one guy on there who people think is like a God, it's assumed he created the site. But it's like, if he was able to navigate the Dark Web to create such an untraceable black market in the first place, there's definitely someone out there who can navigate it to figure out who he is too."

Sakura hadn't thought anything like that even existed.

"So you've used it!" Naruto accused.

"Just to see if I could," he said offhandedly. "The Internet has layers and I was bored, so I looked into how to peel one of those layers back."

Kiba got up, rousing his dog and dusting himself off.

"Well, there goes that," he said disappointed. He started heading home.

Naruto got up to join him, since they lived in the same direction. He lingered for a moment.

"I'm still confused, but whatever. I'll make Kiba explain on the walk," he said, scratching his head. "Bye guys!" he waved before walking off.

"They're idiots," Shikamaru said. "If they even tried to use that site, I'd bet they'd fuck up and get caught getting stuff shipped to their apartments."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"There's been a lot of seizures. Government finding product coming in the mail from overseas and arresting who it's being shipped to, users getting two timed by undercovers posing as sellers. Stuff like that. It's just not worth it."

"Weird," she said. They sat outside in silence.

* * *

_TBC..._


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: Back from the dead! Fresh chapter. M for lotsa intercourse. If you are offended by this, please do not proceed._

**Chapter Seven _  
_**

* * *

By the end of that week, Sakura was spent. While some of her finals had been easy, the stressful ones had caused her to catch little sleep.

By 2:00 p.m. Thursday, she couldn't wait to get home and take a much needed nap. She had no classes on Fridays and that meant that the end of the day could not come sooner.

As she rested her eyes in lecture, she felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her knee length mid-sleeved cardigan.

Pulling it out, she glanced at the screen underneath her desk.

Text message from Sasucakes.

He most certainly did not approve of his contact name in her phone. As much as he liked to intentionally irritate her, she had her own ways of irritating him back. For all the times she had caught him snooping in her phone, he surprisingly had never attempted to edit it.

> _**"Are you almost done with class? Come over."** _

She had only seen him one time since the weekend, but she was tired.

> _**"Yes. 20 more minutes. But I'm tired, I just want to go home and pass out."** _

His response was immediate.

> _**"I'll pick you up then."** _

She rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. She didn't want to get picked up! Maybe if she ignored him he would go away.

* * *

True to his word, another one of Sasuke's gleaming luxury vehicles was parked outside the lecture hall when she walked out.

_Annoying._ _One person does not need this many different cars,_ she thought to herself.

On top of that observation, she was ticked off. One, because he knew exactly which building she was in, and two because he hadn't listened. She approached his vehicle, before bending over and banging on the passenger window.

Confused, he rolled it down.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he pulled off his sunglasses. "Get in the car."

She shook her head slightly.

"I told you, I'm tired. I've barely slept this week and I just want to go home."

He gave her a deadpan stare before unfastening his seat belt and vacating the vehicle. Walking around to the other side of the car, he looked down at her wordlessly. She looked up and back at him. He reached around her, opened the passenger door and shoved her unceremoniously inside.

"HEY! NO!" she screeched.

Her moodiness coupled with his unorthodox behavior was causing passing students on the sidewalk to stare at the spectacle they were making.

He returned to his seat and put the car in drive. Pulling away from the curb, he ignored her nonsensical grumbles by turning up the radio to drown her out.

The drive to his house took a half hour in traffic, and eventually the mundaneness of it had lulled her to sleep.

When she came to, he was pulling through the black iron gates that lead to the winding path of his driveway.

Disoriented, she looked at him before noticing a sleek sports car parked in the roundabout out front. The fountain in the center of the drive was on and splashing water.

"Is Itachi still here?" she asked groggily.

The clenching of his jaw was enough of an affirmative response for her.

She yawned as he parked in front of Itachi's car (in a way that suspiciously appeared to make it difficult for his brother to maneuver around) before collecting herself and hopping out.

As he unlocked the front door and led her inside, he made to move towards the hallway that led to the kitchen.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked.

Staring at the back of the thick white stripes on his navy t-shirt, she said yes before choosing to head up the grand staircase to his room, rather than follow him. She still wanted to sleep.

For once, the massive size of their property was pissing her off. It felt like the walk up the stairs and down the various hallways took her ten minutes and she grumbled to herself about the unnecessary and unused space before finally walking through his door. His bedroom took up what felt like an entire wing, it was that massive. An army of maids cleaned the property once a week, so it was always immaculate. Though right now, she was appreciating nothing about it. She dropped her bag to the ground. Then she kicked off her shoes without care, before tearing off her long grey cardigan and her leggings. Crawling underneath his dark sheets in just a fitted white t-shirt and her underwear, she burrowed into the soft pillows and sighed in contentment.

His bed was more comfortable than hers, though if he had just let her go home she would have been there forty minutes ago and would have been fast asleep by now.

Before Sasuke could make it upstairs, she fell asleep.

* * *

She was warm and relaxed. It felt like she was floating in a dark void in her sleep.

Her eyes shot open and the reality of Sasuke's head between her splayed legs was unexpected.

He was shirtless and licking her clit, while his rough hands gently held her shins outwards.

_Were his hands always that calloused?_ she thought absently.

As the pace of her breathing became rapid, he looked up at her from below without separating his mouth from her.

Noticing her awake, he gripped the back of her calf and moved one of her legs to rest over his shoulder, spreading his now freed hand across her lower stomach.

She squirmed, then grabbed at his hair with her fingers and lifted his head up.

"What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly.

He gave her an unimpressed look, before lifting his palm off her belly and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He dropped his hand back to her body before responding.

"We've never tried this while you were asleep before. I thought it would be hot," he said gruffly.

"But, uh..." struggling to respond, she trailed off. With her cheeks growing warm, she felt flustered.

"You have nothing to complain about right now. Shut up." he said before going back to licking her.

She released her grip on his hair and closed her eyes with a sigh. Bringing one hand to her chest she lightly cupped a breast while running her other hand through her own long hair.

Just as she was going to ask him to go faster, he moved his hand from her shin and inserted two fingers into her wetness as he tongued her.

She bucked her hips, suddenly close, but he firmly kept her in place with the hand on her stomach. He had found out early on that she got turned on by his hand on her lower abdomen, and he did it a lot.

A sharp knock on his door startled her and she gasped in surprise before opening her eyes.

Sasuke abruptly lifted his head to look at her wantonly spread open before him like a harlot, then snapped his head towards the door and barked out a harsh, "What?!"

His fingers stilled, but remained in place.

Itachi's voice could be heard through the ornate wood, asking if he was hungry and if everything was okay.

His face now contorted into an expression of absolute annoyance. His hair was disheveled, his chest heaving. He looked back towards her flushed face, before bringing the hand from her stomach down to roughly rub at her center. His other hand resumed the push of his fingers in and out of her.

She covered her mouth, attempting to keep herself quiet as he continued his savagery on her body.

"No, I am not hungry. Go away!" he finally yelled back.

She faintly heard Itachi responding with a 'very well' as her legs abruptly clamped on Sasuke's arm. Her pussy throbbed so tightly around his fingers when she came, that he felt like the digits were going to break.

He solemnly watched her entire body shake as she rode it out. As she unraveled. Her eyes were half open, glazed. Looking at him, but not really seeing him.

_Irritating._ _  
_

He leaned forward and lightly smacked at her cheeks, fingers still inside her.

Her eyes came into focus and her eyebrows furrowed in displeasure at the treatment.

"Don't pout at me. I just gave you an orgasm."

She narrowed her eyes at this. Reaching down, she gently pried his hand out of her vagina. He was overstaying his welcome in her opinion.

"Well, I'm not returning the favor," she huffed out.

She rolled onto her side and shut her eyes, sighing in contentment.

When she felt no movement on the mattress, she cracked an eye open to find him crouched on his knees looming over her. He was staring at her with his mismatched eyes in what she could only describe as a look of trepidation.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him down behind her.

"You have permission to spoon," she stated.

He adjusted his body behind her, framing himself around her form. His arms slid around her, holding her tight. She could feel him breathing in deeply at the hair on the back of her head. He nuzzled his nose into her skull with little modesty.

* * *

She was dozing off again when she felt him readjusting his boxers behind her. With no warning, she felt him enter her still wet pussy. She gasped in surprise, her hand shooting down to the arm wrapped around her waist. Her white fitted top was still on, but at this point had ridden up just past her belly button.

"If you were trying to avoid this, you shouldn't have set yourself up," he murmured into her ear.

She let out a moan, a mix of pleasure and annoyance.

"I told you I was tired, what's wrong with you?" she replied.

To this, he said nothing. Wrapping both arms around her prone body, he plowed into her relentlessly as they both laid on their sides. His knee caps pressed against the back of hers. Her dainty foot snaked between his shins. She fit like a glove. He liked this position too, they didn't do it often enough he thought to himself.

He bit at the junction of her neck and shoulder. It wasn't gentle.

"Ow!" she cried.

As much as she was trying to stay annoyed, she couldn't ignore the sensations in her body. In her heart. This was... ecstasy. This was passion. This was _everything._

"I'm gonna come inside you," he growled.

"Oh-oh okay," she responded.

One of his hands slid under her shirt, digging her breast out of her bra cup. He squeezed it hard, held her to himself harder and pushed in as far as he could go in the last couple thrusts.

She let out a wail at the sensation. That was it, music to his ears. He shook violently behind her, groaning deeply from the back of his throat as he filled her with come. Her arm reached back, twining her fingers through his hair as he finished, drawing his face closer to the back of her neck. She turned her head and they kissed sloppily. He made sure to use a lot of tongue.

It was one of the many times that he was consumed with an inexplicable desire to devour her. To figuratively _eat her alive._

They fell asleep wrapped up like that and didn't wake until morning.

* * *

Sakura blinked awake. Her eyes squinted at the early morning light blaring over her through the sunroof. Her brain felt foggy and her body felt sore. She was... sticky with no panties on. Her hair she could feel, was a tangled and oily mess.

Sasuke was still bare and pressed up behind her with an arm heavily draped over her. She flipped around to face him in agitation, still pinned under the weight of his arm, but the nagging that was about to tumble out of her mouth died in her throat at the sight of him.

He had fallen asleep with a faint smirk on his features. His dark hair was mussed, his cheeks rosy. She stifled a giggle at the goofiness of her chronically angry and aloof partner looking like a sated kitten.

She lifted a hand to lightly trace his angled cheekbones, his sharp nose, his full lips.

She squeaked in surprise when he unexpectedly parted his mouth and bit her finger.

His eyes still closed, he muttered, "Don't touch the goods."

She huffed and pulled her finger back.

"I've told you a thousand times I can't fall asleep without cleaning myself up first. I'll-I'll get an infection! Or something!" she bit out.

He pulled her closer to his front, tucked her face into his neck and made a contented sound from deep within his chest.

"Mm. You kept complaining that you were tired. So. Don't blame me on this one."

She let him hold her for a couple moments longer, her hands resting against his pectorals before pulling herself away. He reluctantly let his arms drop and turned onto his other side. He scrunched himself into a fetal position beneath his blanket.

"I'm going to shower," she said softly.

* * *

She was spacing out beneath the steam of the water. She barely noticed him trudge in, eyes half shut to stand over the toilet. He'd half assedly put fresh boxers on, but pulled the front low to piss.

She looked at the broad muscles of his back. His hand flat on the wall to keep himself standing from drowsiness. She rinsed her hair and slid her hands down her body to wipe away the trickling foam of the shampoo. She loved this openness with each other. _She loved him_.

* * *

She came out of the en-suite bathroom a while later to find him still in his dark boxer briefs, propped up against his headboard, puffing on a joint.

"Do I have extra underwear here?" she questioned, as she distractedly pulled open random drawers of his dresser.

He eyed her from his lazy position on the bed, took a deep drag and pointed her in the direction of the third drawer down on the left.

Sakura pulled it open absently, expecting to find some random stragglers from her closet inside, but froze at the handful of unexpected and colorful lacy garments staring back at her. New with tags. Bikini cuts, boy shorts, thongs, g-strings. She picked one up with the tips of her fingers and eyed it suspiciously.

"What are these?" she questioned as she turned around.

Sasuke blew smoke out of his mouth and nose. His eyes were drooping. His response delayed.

"You were mad I destroyed your panties before..." he inhaled the joint again, "So I bought you new ones. Like I said I would."

She looked at him, then at the garment in her hand, then back at him, then at the tag.

"Fifty dollars?! For one pair?"

She kneeled down at the drawer and sifted through the rest. The tags showed that they were all similarly priced and were all in her size. She turned to glare at him, but caught him annoyingly shrugging his shoulders in indifference.

"Whatever, Sakura," he drawled.

She huffed in indignation. That recollection of Itachi questioning him about his money resurfaced and nagged at something in her brain. She ignored it and opted to sit on the dark wood of the floor and dig through her options.

"Which one are you going to wear?" he asked.

She put a finger to her chin and turned towards him again, one eye on the plethora of new panties at her disposal. Her towel was barely covering her modesty, haphazardly falling from her chest to the ground and opening up at her front as she sat comfortably in his bedroom.

"Did you buy these at the store?!" she suddenly couldn't get the image of Sasuke shopping for her lingerie in a throng of other women out of her mind.

_Bizarre!_ she thought.

He snorted, "Hell no. What am I crazy?"

_Yes._

"I ordered them online."

He leaned over to his nightstand and put the end of his joint out into the ashtray.

He folded his hands at his lap, leaned back against his pillows and looked at her expectantly.

"Well?"

She smirked and picked out a pair.

* * *

_TBC..._


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: The big reveal! M for bad boys._

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

Now that finals week had wrapped up, Sakura found herself with a week-long break leading up to graduation.

She had been hoping to spend some of the downtime with Sasuke. However, she was finding it difficult to coordinate after he'd picked her up from campus last week and bestowed her with her own fully stocked panty drawer at his house.

Not for the first time of late, she wondered what he was doing that was eating up so much of his time.

On Monday afternoon he'd responded with a short and concise message promising to pick her up on Thursday night at 6 p.m, but then he'd said nothing since. It was now Wednesday.

"Sakura!" Ino snapped.

"Huh?" Sakura whipped her head up from her phone and looked at Ino from her spot on the corner of their couch.

"Were you even listening to me?" Ino asked, one hand on her hip in irritation.

She was in the kitchen making herself a salad and Sakura... Sakura was texting Sasuke to zero response.

"What's up with you? Finals are over! It's time to relax, have a margarita, live a little... choke on the sweet air of freedom!" Ino punched the air with a well manicured fist and then tightened her high ponytail and walked over to the couch with her salad bowl.

Sakura smiled and picked at the edge of her green maxi dress.

Ino shoved a fork full of lettuce into her mouth and then turned on the television in front of them.

Sakura considered her words carefully. Knowing Ino was not a fan of him, she didn't want to incite any anger or make Sasuke look even worse in Ino's eyes.

"Sasuke has been," she began. Ino tensed and stabbed an avocado slice onto her fork with extra vigor. "Busy a lot? Lately," she continued.

Ino's eyes were drilled on her plate, her mouth now in a thin line.

The blonde sniffed loudly, took a breath and then bluntly asked, "So what, you think he's seeing someone else?"

Sakura's mouth dropped open. She deposited her phone on the coffee table and adjusted her bra straps.

"Ino! No! No... I don't think that," she shook her head.

Her mind briefly drifted to the way Sasuke subtly doted on her, the strong feelings she was without a doubt certain he harbored for her and could not see infidelity as a plausible reality. Quite frankly, he was too obsessive over her and too indifferent towards anyone else for that to ring true.

Ino put her half eaten plate onto the table and turned her body towards her pink haired friend.

"Then what?"

Sakura picked at a fingernail and looked towards the dining table behind Ino. She looked out the dining room window and spotted a bird fly across the backdrop of a blue sky.

"I'm not sure," she finished lamely, shrugging her shoulders and looking down at Ino's hands.

Ino snapped her fingers and Sakura looked up. She blew out a breath that moved her ashy bangs forward and sharply demanded, "How's the sex?"

Sakura choked on her own spit. She could feel her face getting hot.

"Wh-what?"

"You heard me."

"It's very..." Sakura recalled waking up last week to his head between her legs and blushed further. "Passionate," she finished.

Ino scoffed, "I'm sure."

Ino stood up to take her plate back to the kitchen.

"Well, if it was nonexistent and tame, I'd tell you you have something to be worried about."

Sakura nodded her head in agreement. She heard the clang of Ino's plate on the counter.

"Maybe he's a drug dealer?" Ino joked.

Sakura laughed. She pictured Sasuke standing on a street corner selling dope and shook her head at the thought. Sasuke was a little too... refined for that sort of thing. Did drug dealers even stand on street corners anymore?

She saw Ino's body disappear as she bent over to open the fridge.

"Wanna drink?" Ino asked.

And so they dropped the topic and drank into the night.

* * *

Sasuke paused his movements to lift up his hand and eye the dirt collecting under his fingernails with distaste.

"What's wrong pretty boy? Thought you could found a black market website that lets people hire contract killers and not get your stupid Nancy-boy piano hands dirty?" Suigetsu flashed his sharp teeth at him, wiped the sweat off his brow and continued to plow his shovel into the ground.

Sasuke lifted his eyes at his companion's commentary and scowled.

"Shut up."

He dropped his hand back to his own shovel, grunted and continued to drill into the dirt. The sun was setting rapidly, and the darkness of twilight was fast to consume everything around them.

"What?" Suigetsu threw the dirt uncaringly over his shoulder. "It's just fascinating is all," he slurred.

Sasuke jammed the blade of the shovel into the ground and placed both of his filthy hands on the wood of the handle, proceeding to glower at the imbecile in front of him.

"You find it fascinating," he started softly, "That I am put out by the fact that we are standing here, in the middle of nowhere... Digging a shallow grave to bury a bunch of—a bunch of FUCKING RANDOM LIMBS, that YOU," his voice was crescendoing with every sentence, but he stopped here to breath deeply.

"That YOU, were supposed to handle the disposal of, through the PROPER CHANNELS," he spit into the dirt, "We have protocols for a reason you dipshit!" he concluded.

He would have pinched the bridge of his nose if his hands weren't covered in grime.

Suigetsu stopped his shoveling to look up at this. He grinned wide. Entertained.

"Lighten up Boss-man! We're not just digging a shallow grave, we're going to pour concrete over it too!"

Seething, Sasuke looked away, grumbled under his breath, and pulled out his main cell phone. He'd turned all location data, cell network services and sensor data off before driving out to meet up with his... henchman (for there was no better word for Suigetsu). He eyed the unread message from Sakura from three hours prior that he had yet to address. Skimming the message quickly, he shoved the phone back into his pocket and then clapped his hands together.

"Hurry the fuck up, I need to pick up my girlfriend."

* * *

He was late. So late to pick her up. She'd been texting and calling him all week, and he'd promised to get her tonight. He inwardly seethed some more at Suigetsu's blatant negligence. This week was hell. Mess after mess needed to be addressed or cleaned up and he'd had no time. His hands were so tight on the steering wheel that he felt like the skin on his knuckles was going to rip open. These kind of oversights would be what got them caught. If it happened again, he thought darkly, he would pay Jugo to put a hit on Suigetsu and be done with it.

He needed to change. He needed to wash his hands, take a shower. He needed to switch cars. But he was running so behind that he wouldn't be able to craft a valid excuse to get out of this. Sakura wasn't a fool, he knew she was getting suspicious of what he was doing when she wasn't around.

He groaned as he slowed down at what felt like the tenth red light in a row. Once he was close enough to the city, he would turn his cell connection back on.

There was a very specific mile marker he had to cross to ensure his cell pinged a tower within the vicinity of the city limits rather than some random ass bumble fuck tower outside of the area.

As he passed the marker, he deftly lifted his phone from the center console and tapped into the settings to bring it back online. He had done this so many times lately, that muscle memory took over. He didn't look down.

He was driving one of his older cars, so did not have the capability to connect his cell to the Bluetooth navigation.

The phone vibrated multiple times with a backlog of messages. He side eyed the screen.

Naruto. Naruto. Sakura. Sakura. Sakura. Sakura. Itachi. Sakura.

He tapped into her most recent message before delving to messages from farther back, and he stiffened at the note.

> _**"I'm already at your house. Itachi picked me up."** _

White, hot, anger flooded through his veins. He considered pulling over to quell his rage, but kept driving instead. What the fuck? What was she doing texting Itachi to fucking pick her up? She couldn't take an Uber or some shit? A taxi? On top of that, what was his pestering older brother even still in town for?! He bashed his hand on the steering wheel, accidentally honking the horn. He could see the shadow of the driver in front of him turning around in their seat. Sasuke instinctually flicked them off.

"Piece of shit, fuck you!" he uttered.

He took a deep breath through his nostrils and let it out of his mouth as he picked up speed on the road.

_Okay, okay,_ he thought to himself. _This way, I can just wash up in the downstairs bathroom after I park the car. Change into clothes from the laundry room. Look presentable. Not show up looking like I just dug a fucking backwoods grave,_ he placated to himself.

Ugh. This was the sort of shit he paid other people to do. This was insane!

This. _This_ was insane. Not him. He was fine.

* * *

Sasuke came up the steps from the garage and lower level of the house toweling his hair dry. His clothes were clean and presentable, a freshly pressed flannel, t-shirt, jeans and some striped socks. _Stripes were cool_ , he thought absently. _Like really straight._ He looked down at his sock. _15 stripes. 180 degrees a line_. Or were they considered circles instead of lines since they wrapped around his foot? _360 degrees a circle then._

He had shoved his old clothes covered in dirt, sweat and blood into a garbage bag along with his sneakers. He'd thrown it all out in the dumpster at the lower level of the house. He could hear Sakura's lilting voice carrying over from the kitchen. She was talking to Itachi. Again. Inwardly he groaned.

He rounded the corner with the towel now around his neck. Itachi saw him first. Sakura was facing the other way.

There were a couple empty beer bottles on the table at the bay window between them. They were drinking together. How fucking cute. He scowled as he approached the table and sat down next to Sakura.

"Hi!" she bubbled.

"I was worried about you, what happened?" she questioned.

He could tell she was already well on her way to smashed.

"How long have you been home?" she asked puzzled.

"You took a shower?" she was asking questions a mile a minute.

He was looking at Sakura but could feel his brother's gaze focused on him. He was staring him down with that stupid ass neutral expression on his face. He wanted to claw that smug calculating look right off his goddamn body. Fucking righteous ass Itachi.

"You have dirt," he started, "all under your fingernails," he finished.

His eyes dropped to Sasuke's left hand.

Sasuke looked away from Sakura and peered down momentarily.

**_FUCK._ **

Looking back up at Itachi, he lifted his eyebrow as he slid his hand under the table and away from sight. Guilty.

He said nothing.

Itachi eyed him a moment longer before breaking the eye contact and taking a swig of his beer.

* * *

_TBC..._


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for intercourse and references to drugs, alcohol and violence. If you are uncomfortable, don't proceed._

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

Sakura had nagged him all morning into sitting out with her next to the pool. He'd said no at least fifty times. And then she'd looked at him with such disappointment that he'd pushed her out of his way and dug out his swim trunks from his closet. She'd lit up like a goddamn light bulb at that point. Which is how he'd found himself lying back on an angled pool lounger, with her between his legs, reading a magazine in the sun.

She was in a skimpy lime green bikini and a flat brim black cap that he was certain belonged to him at some point, but he'd lost track of.

She was using his chest as a backrest and he could feel the sweat begin to form from where their skin was making contact.

He sighed in annoyance, "Well aren't you going to get in the water?"

She looked over her shoulder at him and grinned.

"Not yet!"

He groaned and dropped his head back against the chair.

He needed to get rid of her today, there were things he needed to address outside the house. He knew his burner phone had been blowing up all throughout the night but he hadn't had a chance to sift through the contents.

She'd been over since Thursday, and he'd left business unattended for two days since. At the rate Suigetsu was botching jobs... his mind shifted back to the disaster that was Thursday night. He was lucky Sakura had gotten drunk enough before he'd gotten home to lose sight of what would've surely been an ugly interrogation if she'd been sober. Though, fuck the fact that she had been sitting in his house without him, getting inebriated with his fucking prim and proper dumbass older brother.

The Hidden Mist marketplace was burning up. It had suddenly gained too much popularity, in too short of a time frame.

_Fucking... secret websites on the dark web weren't supposed to go mainstream!_ He grimaced as his thoughts plummeted down a rabbit hole.

He was in blatant denial that they were potentially in over their heads.

His finger tapped against the armrest of the lounger with impatience. He'd scrubbed the nail beds raw the second he'd left the kitchen on Thursday night. Sakura had observed him from the doorway of his bathroom like she was worried he was going into a manic episode.

Whatever. _He didn't get those anymore._

"Is something wrong?" she asked lightly as she turned a page.

Before he could answer, his brother popped his head out from one of the massive sliding glass doors that faced the pool courtyard. Sasuke's fingers clenched the metal of the armrest in silent agitation.

Sakura perked up and waved. He could see his brother's mouth lift up in a soft smile. What the fuck.

"I'm going out for the day. I will be back tomorrow. Sasuke," at this he fixed his gaze onto his little brother.

"What?"

"Stay out of trouble."

Sakura could feel Sasuke's body tense behind her as they watched Itachi disappear through the glass and walk down the hallway towards the front door.

She felt him take a deep breath, and then he reached to the dark metal end table on their left and haphazardly grabbed her vodka lemonade.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, "That's mine!"

"What the fuck is this?" he growled as he drank from the cup, "Is there even any vodka in this?"

He slammed the now empty perspiring glass back onto the table and then brought his icy hand to rest flat against her thigh.

She eyed the glass in irritation. That was her refreshing summer beverage!

She glowered, still not facing him. Then sniffed.

"It's noon. I only put half a shot in there you jerk."

Sasuke remained silent, still tense but seemingly subdued.

As she turned another page she froze. She turned her head to peer at him over her shoulder. Her button nose was slightly pointed at the tip, and he could see a smattering of her freckles in the light.

"...Are you... are you getting hard right now?" she questioned.

He lifted an eyebrow at her in response and looked away.

Sakura faced forwards. Took a deep breath. And dropped her magazine on the end table.

She began moving herself annoyingly against his crotch and he moved his hand from her thigh to her hip to stop her.

"Don't," he ground out.

She sighed in exasperation, "Why not?"

_Because I don't feel like letting you be in control, that's why._

He remained silent.

"Don't you want to?" she asked with a hint of uncertainty.

Behind her head, he shut his eyes. How did he end up with this annoying, tiny, pink haired little girl? Why was half his life, half the time he'd been alive on this earth centered around this one stupid person. Why, why, why.

_He hated having feelings._

He slumped his forehead to her shoulder in frustration, then reached back with his other hand to move the pool chair to a flat position.

Sakura perked up and moved her legs to a reverse straddle as he laid down. He eyed her back from his view below and ran one hand from her back dimples up to her shoulder blade and kept the other rested at her hip.

Her hand came to rest over his at her side and she ground herself into him with no restraint. She giggled at the sensation. They hadn't done it outside in a while and she was having fun.

Abruptly, Sasuke sat up. He lifted her up with one arm and used the other to shove his black swim trunks down his legs. Then he put her back in place and lied back down.

Surprised at the sudden movement, her hands had flown to his forearm around her waist.

He squeezed and then said in agitation, "Well, get on with it."

She laughed again and reached down to move her bikini bottom to the side before dropping herself onto his length.

He groaned from underneath her, but otherwise did not move. His legs were extended straight, his feet hanging off the edge of the lounge chair. He'd kicked his trunks off his ankles into a crumpled heap on the hot brick below.

She gasped lightly. Brought her hands to feel herself up as she faced forwards, eyeing the glimmer of the pool water beneath the sun and then began to move up and down. Sideways. Clenching. Unclenching. He eyed himself disappearing inside of her. Looked at her taut ass, at the bikini bottom bunching to the side of her rear.

But mainly, Sasuke simply laid there, letting her lead and moving his hands all over her scantily clothed body. Across her ankles, grasping the soles of her small feet and then moving back up. He pulled at the tie on the hip of her bikini bottom and yanked the garment away, tossing it uncaringly.

Sakura kept moving, her rhythm slow, then fast.

"Pull my hair?" she questioned.

He was zoned out. Looking at her but also looking at the sky and the backyard around them. His eyes slid once again to her back, and he lifted his hand from her hip to wrap it in her long tresses.

She let out a sound of approval and continued to circle her hips on him, her head slightly angled back. The hat on her head had long since fallen off to the ground.

He could tell she was getting tired, Sakura didn't have the stamina to lead for long. Not like he did. So he pulled her back by the hair, her back now flat against his chest.

"Ow - wh-what?" she breathed.

"Lie back."

He bent his knees, his feet now flat on the lounge chair, then grabbed her legs and arranged them between his. He wrapped one arm across her chest, her head now resting on his shoulder and then used the other to reposition his length in her sex. He glided that hand to her clit and proceeded to drill into her from below.

She gasped. Her hands gripping his arms tightly as he took over.

"Oh."

He bit at her ear and did not cease the punishing pace, even when she began to squirm away at the sensation.

He felt her body tensing. At some point her legs had splayed open around his of their own accord. Both of her hands were gripping the arm at her chest tightly now as she began to pant out.

"I'm going to... I'm going to come," she exclaimed.

He grunted, picking up speed as she tried to catch her breath. And then they both tensed and came together.

She laid on him a moment longer, then slid her body to his side, tucking herself in and threw an arm across his chest.

She was spent and content. He kissed the top of her head and zoned out again, his eyes half lidded from the sun.

"Are you going to get in the water now? he asked.

She swatted his shoulder, laughed and rested her head against him.

* * *

A short while later, he was sliding his swim shorts back on. Sakura abruptly ripped the top of her bikini off, pushed off the chair and ran into the water.

He edged backwards in his seat as the water from the resounding splash got uncomfortably onto his skin.

She surfaced, smoothing her wet hair behind her head with a serene smile.

She looked at him, and laughed out, "Why do you look so sullen? Are you getting in?"

He shook his head in the negative, his feet now flat on the brick, forearms resting on his knees as he absently looked at her exposed tits.

She swam over to the edge of the pool and folded her arms against the side.

"Bring me my phone," she demanded.

Begrudgingly, he picked it up off the side table and stood up to hand it to her.

She reached up to accept it from his hand.

He stood above her a moment longer, staring at the top of her head and made a comment.

"When's the last time you dyed your hair? Your roots are showing."

She frowned as she squinted up at him against the sunlight, "Don't be rude," and then, "Get me another lemonade."

He turned on his heel in irritation, heading inside.

_Get me another lemonade Sasuke,_ he mimicked to himself. _Get it yourself_.

She was bossing him around like he was some shitty errand boy instead of worshiping him for being the best lover she's ever had.

_The_ _ **only**_ _lover she's ever had_ , he corrected. He could feel himself getting worked up at the thought of another man's hands running down Sakura's body, another man giving her multiple orgasms, another man seeing her naked, another man waking up to her everyday and then abruptly snapped himself out of it.

He hadn't allowed anyone else. Once they'd started college he'd inwardly panicked at the prospect and had aggressively staked his claim before anything could happen.

He stomped his way through the hallway, looked back to see her attention raptly consumed by her cell phone, and then took the stairs two at a time to get to the office near his bedroom.

* * *

He'd stopped in his room to grab a key for the office door from his nightstand. With Itachi suddenly residing in the house, he was erring on the side of caution in the off chance that his brother decided to leave his side of the estate to snoop around Sasuke's.

_Fucking asshole._

Shutting the door to the office behind him, he approached the large wood cabinet nested between the bookshelves and threw the doors open.

His current burner phone was lighting up nonstop, so he picked it up off the shelf of the cabinet and gave the notifications a quick scan.

> **12:01:26 Transaction**
> 
> **12:01:27 Transaction**
> 
> **12:01:27 Transaction successful**
> 
> **12:01:35 Transaction denied**
> 
> **12:01:40 Funds transfer complete**
> 
> **12:01:42 Transaction**
> 
> **12:01:43 Transaction**
> 
> **12:02:02 Seller requests settlement dispute**
> 
> **12:02:04 Transaction**
> 
> **12:02:10 1 star review: ' _This supposed 5 star mercenary took out the wrong guy. It was some other dude that had the same name as my hit! I want my money back!'_**
> 
> **12:02:12 Currency exchange initiation**
> 
> **12:02:14 Faulty item flag**
> 
> **12:02:15 Item not as described: ' _Seller advertised ivory from a country in the East. The ivory I received is from a country in the West.'_**
> 
> **12:02:20 3 star review: ' _It's the correct gun, but the serial number is still on it...'_**
> 
> **12:03:30 Suigetsu:** _**Yo. You should probably stop by today** _
> 
> **12:03:38 Customer requests settlement dispute**
> 
> **12:03:59 Transaction**

And then a lull in transaction notifications, but he ignored this for expected lag. The server typically reset around noon.

> **12:05:40 Suigetsu:** _**Karin's being annoying** _
> 
> **12:10:22 Suigetsu:** _**Like REALLY annoying.** _
> 
> **12:30:50 Suigetsu:** _**Come through soon** _

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and itched at a random spot on his bare torso.

_Those two just need to fuck it out and be done with it,_ he thought.

Flipping the phone over in his hand, he removed the back cover, sim card and motherboard, and then with a practiced professionalism, he broke the device in half with a grimace. He dropped the pieces into a drawer of the cabinet, then reached for a new phone out of the dwindling pile of extras and tore the packaging off.

Walking towards his desk, he powered it on and opened his laptop.

The wide arch shaped window behind the desk was bright and overlooked the back courtyard and swimming pool below.

He spotted Sakura with her unclothed back towards him, sitting on the entry steps of the pool and kicking water around with her toes.

Turning again towards the room, he glanced up at the wood shelves lining the perimeter of the space from floor to ceiling. He noted the shape of his foot imprinted into the plush area rug below, and then he directed his focus to his devices with a furrowed brow and an expression of concentration.

He downloaded his favored remote desktop application into the phone, clicked and typed in a number of commands on the laptop and then initiated a custom sync from the computer in order to program the phone.

He texted Suigetsu.

> **_"New number."_ **

Then he put the phone on silent and stuffed it into the pocket of his shorts.

* * *

Sakura was floating on her back, still naked when he came back out.

She switched to a position where she was treading water as he walked through the glass door. She looked at his empty handedness with irritation.

"You took THAT long and still didn't get my lemonade?"

He froze in place. Glared at her. And then headed back inside to get her stupid drink.

As he walked towards the kitchen, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and checked it again. Suigetsu had responded with a 'confirming receipt' from a number he didn't recognize, which signified that he had rotated phones as well.

_At least that's one protocol he can fucking follow properly. Moron._

He approached the fridge, grabbing a textured glass from a cabinet on the way.

Standing at the island to pour her drink, he reached for the middle drawer and pulled out some rolling papers.

* * *

Sakura was kicking her legs in the pool, feeling herself grow frustrated. What the hell was he doing in there? It had given her more leeway to connive with Ino via text, but now that he was taking his sweet ass time to come back outside, she was worried her plan wouldn't work.

She spotted him coming back out, this time with her lemonade in one hand and a joint that he was sealing across his tongue in the other.

She swam up to the edge of the pool again, and rested her chin on her hand as she watched him approach.

She'd just painted her fingernails blue and her eye fell to her nail and the flash of a petite silver ring she'd donned on her middle finger.

He put the glass down in front of her and turned away. He'd filled it with crushed ice, placed a metal straw in it and topped it with a piece of mint. Sakura smiled at the gesture.

She took a sip as he lit his joint. He parked himself on a wicker chair nearby and positioned himself in her direction.

"So, you know how you said you won't come to my commencement next week?"

He flicked the ash from his joint and dropped his lighter on an adjacent wicker end table.

Sakura continued, "Naruto and Ino both think that's a dick move."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I think… I'll forgive you if," she started "You let us use your house to throw a graduation party?"

Sakura lowered herself into the pool. That last part had come out with less of a confident delivery than she'd intended.

He extended his legs out in front of him and crossed his bare feet at the ankle, inhaling smoke.

"When?" he asked.

"Tonight?" Sakura supplied.

Inwardly he sighed. He thought again to the two days of not rendezvousing with Suigetsu. He needed to go check on operations in person, but she was giving him that look.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"I'm not looking at you like anything!" she chirped as she popped back up.

He exhaled a cloud.

"Fine."

Sakura flashed a cheeky grin at him and then reached for her phone. She was standing straight up in the shallow end of the water now.

"Put some clothes on," he muttered.

She laughed melodically, "Oh, shut up. You know you like it!"

* * *

_TBC..._


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for language, drug use, and alcohol. If you are uncomfortable with these themes, don't proceed. The initial draft of Chapter 10 was removed - the scenes have been re-done within this update to fit more cohesively with the tone and rest of the plot._

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

When he hadn't shown up to get her on Thursday night, she'd been worried. More worried than she'd been about him in a long time.

She'd been pacing back and forth in her room at her apartment. Periodically, she would stop at the mirror and mess with the mascara clumping in her eyelashes.

In her desperation she'd called Itachi and expressed her concern.

_Please tell me I still have his number and that it's still the same_.

She remembered blindly fumbling through the contacts in her phone to track it down.

After he'd answered she'd attempted to sound calm, but failed miserably.

"Hi. This—it's Sakura," she started with.

She could hear his sharp breath over the line. No doubt he was alarmed.

"Hello, Sakura."

"Sorry-sorry to bother you. But... I'm worried about Sasuke. He hasn't been responding to me for a few days and he was supposed to pick me up at six o'clock, and then he never showed."

She heard the sound of a car door shutting on his end.

"I saw him last night at the house, albeit briefly. I can confirm that he was in one piece," Itachi stated.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief, but the feeling was short-lived.

_Then why wasn't he responding this week, and why was he a no-show tonight?_

"Okay—okay great," she replied.

There was a pause on the line.

"You said he was supposed to pick you up two hours ago? Where are you now?"

* * *

That was how she'd found herself standing uncertainly in their kitchen, while Itachi dug through the fridge for food and drinks. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows, the top couple buttons at the front undone. He'd removed his shoes at the door and was rummaging through the shelves in his dress socks.

She'd usually only ever been in the house with Sasuke present or by herself when he ran errands, so to be there with just Itachi after he had retrieved her was definitely bizarre.

She remembered feeling out of her element, like something bad was happening that had made it come to this. But she shook it off and set her bag down on one of the counters.

She'd wordlessly grabbed the items his brother was setting out on the marble island and taken them to the table by the window in a daze.

And then he was sitting across from her, opening a beer for her and sliding it to her in silence.

His long hair was tied as usual, the end of it falling over the front of his shoulder.

Her eyes focused on the neck of the bottle and then she had snatched at it, taking a long swig.

She looked up and started, "I think he's up to something that's maybe..." she trailed off, uncertain how to finish.

This conversation felt a lot heavier than the one she'd had with Ino the day before.

Itachi drank his beverage and held up his hand to silence her.

"I know it's hard, but don't confront him... not yet," he advised. "Sasuke shuts down when he feels threatened or attacked. You know how he is," he continued.

Sakura nodded in agreement and sipped again at her beer.

"Let him be. My primary concern is his mental health more than anything else. Everything otherwise, is superficial to me," Itachi finished.

She shook her head side to side, her hair feeling flat and lifeless against her head. Suddenly, she felt apprehensive.

"He would freak out if he knew we were talking about him like this," she muttered.

She looked down at her hands and shook her head again.

"Indeed," Itachi agreed.

They sat in silence for a time, sipping on their drinks and ruminating. Then, they'd changed the subject.

Sasuke had come home an hour later.

* * *

Sasuke was leaning against the doorframe of one of the first floor bathrooms, his arms crossed over his grey shirt as he glared at her reflection in the mirror.

She was in a fitted tank top and her underwear, parting her hair with gloves on and brushing pink dye into the roots. Her toenails were painted the same blue as her fingernails and she scrunched her toes into the cold granite below her feet.

With Itachi out of the house for the day, they'd been able to move about a little more freely and openly than when he was home. The voyeuristic poolside sex a couple hours earlier had been a definitive indication of that.

"You said YOU wanted to throw a party here," he started.

Sakura glanced at him in the mirror over the sink and continued to part hair.

A glop of dye fell off the applicator brush onto her exposed thigh and his eyes followed the movement.

He continued, "So then why is Naruto texting ME an essay every fucking minute about how I need to pick HIM up at once, so he and I can go to the store together?"

Sakura wiped at the dye on her leg with a gloved hand. It left a colored smear on her peachy skin and she 'tsked' in displeasure.

"I mean, are you really that put out by it? When's the last time you hung out with Naruto? Just go get him. He's excited," she offered.

Sasuke grumbled incoherently in irritation, and uncrossed his arms as he watched her struggle with coloring the harder to reach spots.

She tried to peer up at him with her head bent and squeaked out a desperate, "Help?"

He stepped forward to stand at her back. Yanking the dye brush from her hand, he angled her neck in the needed direction. Quickly and efficiently, he filled in the spots she kept missing.

"I'm not your fucking hairdresser," he said, agitated. Yet, he hovered behind her when he was finished, his hand still resting on her neck. She lifted her head to give his surly reflection a pointed look in the mirror. He stared back.

He'd been helping her dye her hair for years.

* * *

After that, Sasuke had begrudgingly retrieved Naruto at Sakura's behest and driven him around town to pick up liquor and kegs. Hours later, the party was in full swing.

"Yo, Kiba had some extra Adderalls, you want one?" Naruto undid the bag of pills scrunched up in his hand and presented it in front of Sakura, Ino and Sasuke.

The four of them were standing in a loose circle out back, casually sipping on alcohol.

Sakura could see Kiba passed out on a pool chair from where she was standing. She was pretty confident that Naruto had swiped the bag out of the unsuspecting guy's pocket.

Sasuke eyed the offering with brief consideration and asked, "Are you having one?"

Sakura smoothed down her fitted, short-sleeved dress and inwardly sighed at the competitive undertone laced in Sasuke's response.

Naruto shook his head, "Nah, I don't think so. I'm gonna save these for a rainy day. I'm going for more of a chill night, if you know what I mean."

He waited for Ino to look away before putting his index finger and thumb together near his mouth, making a smoking sign at Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head. _Idiot._

"Last chance. Ladies?" Naruto asked.

Sakura took a sip of her beer, then responded in the negative, "I think I'm just going to stick to drinking tonight."

Ino was fidgeting, suspiciously acting like she wasn't listening. As Naruto made a move to put the crinkled baggie away, she shot her hand forward and underneath his face.

"I'll take one."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief.

"Miss 'I'm judgey about pot' is out here to rage I see."

He tipped one into her narrow palm then tried to seal the Ziploc.

Ino looked down at the tablet in her hand for a moment then said, "You know what, you better make that two," as she lifted two fingers.

Naruto looked around at the people milling about, bumped his head to the music, then looked at Sasuke.

"Didn't you have a pool table around here? Bet you ten bucks I can kick your ass in an 8-ball race."

Sasuke's grip tightened on his beer can before he responded, "Yeah? Make it a hundred bucks, 9-ball, first to win five games."

"Get ready to be out a bill then, because we all know that I'm better than you!"

Sakura took a long gulp from her drink as they circle jerked.

"Which way is it? Which way? Which way? Let's go," Naruto was spinning around in place looking in every direction. The hood of his hoodie tee flopped around with the movement.

"Are you sure you didn't take an Adderall?" Ino asked suspiciously.

Sakura giggled as Sasuke made to leave.

She latched on to his hand and yanked until he turned around. She got on her toes and pressed her lips to his. _Thank you._

He looked down at her for a second, then grabbed at a strand of her hair and gruffly commented, "It turned out too pink this time."

Then he let go and left with Naruto.

Ino coughed into her hand.

"Excuse me while I fucking puke."

"Ino!" Sakura reprimanded.

She was happy. Sasuke seemed stable and present. The party was nice.

Ino popped one of the addys into her mouth and chased it with her drink. She slipped the second into the pocket of her mini skirt, then raised her hands in the air.

The music was loud and they could see people inside the house through the sliding glass.

"I am here for this party! I'm here for it! This wouldn't have worked at any of our small ass apartments. Nice work Sakura. Anyways, guess what?"

Sakura waved her hands around in a questioning motion, "What? What Pig? What is it?"

"I'm a working girl now!"

Shikamaru strolled over from a nearby drink table, his eyebrow raised and a red party cup in his hand.

"Ino, did you just call yourself a prostitute?"

She punched him hard in the shoulder with the flat of her hand.

"No, no. It came out wrong."

She slid her long nailed fingers through her ponytail and whipped the end of her hair for dramatic effect before announcing, "I got the job!"

"Oh, no shit. Congrats," Shikamaru offered.

Sakura smiled. It was nice to be with her roommates in the backyard of what she essentially considered her second home. She belatedly realized she hadn't shared this part of her life with them before.

"When did you find out?" she asked.

Ino fanned herself as she drank more of her cocktail.

"I got the call yesterday!"

Shikamaru took a lazy gulp out of his cup.

"I am so down to get trashed tonight. This is such a celebration," Ino continued as she downed the end of her drink.

"Like, can you imagine me? At a desk! In a—in a sexy form fitting business suit? With a pencil skirt, and a pointed heel and—"

Shikamaru looked at something past Sakura and then walked forwards and vacated the vicinity.

"Ugh. He's such a jerk." Ino complained.

Sakura laughed.

* * *

"I totally fucking kicked your ass," Naruto exclaimed.

"Fuck you," Sasuke responded.

They had played all five games and it had almost ended with a cue jammed into Naruto's eyeball, so they'd called it quits.

They'd left the den and had come back towards the central part of the house.

"You're an asshole, why aren't you going to Sakura's commencement?" Naruto questioned as they leaned against the wall of the hallway.

_He'd let her have this stupid party hadn't he?_

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. He'd thrown on a burnt red long sleeve over his grey shirt and was regretting the choice in material as it had rubbed uncomfortably against the inside of his arms all night.

He rolled a sleeve up in irritation.

"Aw man, wait hold that thought. I have to piss. Where's the closest bathroom?"

"Naruto, stop acting like you've never been here before. You know where it is," he muttered, annoyed.

"But I get so confused! There are too many hallways."

Sasuke glared at him, unimpressed.

"Be right back!"

As Naruto walked off, Sasuke scanned his eyes around the people in his house. A lot of them had left after the handful of hours he'd disappeared to slaughter Naruto at billiards.

_Good, fuck all these people._

The few that remained were a mix of Sakura and Naruto's close friends and a couple random people he didn't recognize.

Naruto was such a fucking assclown. No subtlety with his intentions. It was obvious he was trying to save him from what would surely have been hours of forced socializing by goading him into pool.

He took a sip of his beer and then blanched. It was warm, and it was still full. He was thinking about disposing of it down the drain of the kitchen sink, when he froze.

No fucking way. What the _**fuck**_.

He took a step, shoving some random asshole out of his way.

"Watch it man!"

"Fuck off," he responded.

Was that—was that fucking Suigetsu walking up the hallway and towards the courtyard?!

He deposited the full can in his hand onto the nearest surface and shot forward to intercept the moron.

* * *

Sakura and Ino had parked themselves in a set of wicker chairs on the far side of the back courtyard. They were overlooking the pool from a distance, the glass doors that led back inside were all slid open at this point. The foot traffic between the different areas of the house had been continuous throughout the night, but now there were barely any people outside but them.

Ino was talking so fast that Sakura could barely follow what she was saying.

She was looking up at the night sky when she realized Ino had stopped.

"What's—what's going on over there?" Ino questioned, nodding her head.

* * *

Sasuke could feel his blood boiling under his skin. His shitty fucking long sleeved shirt was not helping in regulating his rising body temperature.

He came up and knocked a heavy hand into Suigetsu's chest before he could step even further out into the courtyard than he already had.

"Why the fuck would you show up here?!" he demanded.

He was livid. Enraged.

"Are you fucking crazy?" he asked, with derision.

He could feel his arms moving around in anger, outside of his control. He was making a scene, he knew it, but this was—this was not fucking okay.

Suigetsu grinned that unnerving pointy smile and spoke with little amusement.

"Because Boss-man, shit is hitting the fan. YOU'VE been no where to be found all day and yet here you are throwing a goddamn FUCKING party!"

Sasuke glowered at Suigetsu, his teeth grating. His eyes moved to Jugo who stood slightly farther back in a silent pensiveness.

"Thanks for the invite by the way," Suigetsu finished.

Sasuke hung his head. His hands clenching as he peered behind him to ensure no one was in hearing range.

All he saw was stupid ass Inuzuka, passed out on the pool chair that he'd fucked Sakura on earlier.

He ran his hand down his face and then asked, "What's going on then? What's going on that you had to fucking come to my goddamn house— where you would be seen... in front of witnesses… INTERACTING WITH ME?"

"What's going on?!" Suigetsu was yelling back now. His face contorted in disbelief and his arms flailed in an attempt to be heard over the dwindling music.

"You're asking _ME_ what the fuck is going on?!" he repeated.

* * *

Ino and Sakura watched the puzzling exchange from across the backyard.

Sakura silently glanced at Ino with a look that said 'don't move' and then nonchalantly got up to get herself a drink from the table near Sasuke.

Sasuke was facing the other direction, so immersed in his heated back and forth that she was certain she was not noticed. She began to hear bits and pieces float towards her ear.

"...your phone. Now."

She could see Sasuke digging into his pocket from the corner of her eye and was surprised to see him pull out a cell phone that she did not recognize.

His fingers deftly clicked across the screen, scrolling nonstop.

_What's he doing?_

She continued to slowly pour liquor into a cup, taking her time to select a mixer.

"...where's Karin?" she heard him ask sharply.

Karin? Sakura thought. _Who was that?_ Didn't Naruto have a cousin with that name?

* * *

Sasuke's eyes widened as the messages he hadn't been able to address all day streamed past his vision. He'd been distracted with Sakura at the house earlier in the day and then distracted from running around with Naruto later in the afternoon. His grip on the burner phone was strained.

"She's doing fucking damage control. Told us we were being idiots for coming here and bothering you," Suigetsu explained, arms now crossed.

Suigetsu's eyes moved away from Sasuke and focused on something behind him.

Sasuke, still in shock over the amount of bullshit they were now swimming in and how much had gone wrong, AGAIN, in just 24 hours, did not notice Suigetsu's attention shift. Instead, he demanded that Jugo give him a cigarette.

Jugo handed his boss a square and as Sasuke lit it in his mouth with a lighter from his pocket, Suigetsu finally asked, "Who's that?"

He nodded his head in the direction of what had caught his attention.

Sasuke took a deep drag and turned.

Fucking. Sakura. Sakura was standing not far away at the drink table, pouring herself some liquor. Had she heard anything?! His heart stopped. His panic floated through him briefly, but then quickly turned back into anger. He whipped back around.

"Don't. Look at her," he seethed.

Suigetsu smiled that stupid shit eating grin and whistled long and low.

"Heh. Is that your lady Boss-man?"

"Fuck off," he bit out.

"Come on," he moved forward and signaled at Jugo and Suigetsu to follow him, away from this area of the house.

* * *

Ino approached Sakura as Sasuke led the group off.

They watched him flick the cigarette onto the ground as they disappeared inside.

Ino eyed Sakura with uncertainty before speaking.

"Since when does he smoke?" she questioned.

Sakura's mouth dropped open as she stared back at Ino, silently shaking her head.

* * *

_TBC..._


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for language, references to drug use and violence. If you are uncomfortable with these themes, don't proceed. Note that the initial draft of Chapter 10 was removed - the scenes were re-done to fit more cohesively with the tone and rest of the plot. Head back a chap if needed._

**Chapter Eleven  
**

* * *

"I texted you at noon that Karin was being annoying! You didn't fucking respond!" Suigetsu proclaimed.

"You texted me at noon that Karin—are you fucking kidding me? That was your way of trying to tell me that the entire fucking transaction server crashed?" Sasuke shouted back.

He had led them to the office on the first floor and slammed the door shut. Belatedly, he noted that some of Itachi's things were strewn across the wood of the executive desk he sat behind.

Suigetsu sat across from him in an oak chair, his combat boots on the ground. His shirt had ridden up from being seated and the gun tucked into the back of his waistband was now exposed.

"Yo Sasuke, one of your own ass backwards rules is to say as little detail as possible over SMS! What the fuck! Don't shoot the messenger here!"

_The lull in transaction notifications at noon had not been routine,_ Sasuke thought to himself.

"Karin doesn't think it was random," Suigetsu added. He paused, his shark like appearance serious. He leaned forward in his chair, then said, "She thinks it was a hit."

Sasuke's expression darkened further. His white knuckled grip on the edge of the desk was so hard, he felt like the wood would splinter.

"Why would somebody hit at noon, right when the server refreshes? How would they know that's the time everything goes offline to reboot?" he asked.

Honestly, this was worse than the random body parts they'd buried the other day.

"How the fuck would I know?!" Suigetsu threw his hands up.

Shakily, Sasuke dialed the missing member of their crew and put it on speaker.

"Karin. Speak," he demanded.

He could hear the furious typing of a keyboard on Karin's end of the line.

She grumbled before barking out, "Sasuke. Where have you been?"

Suigetsu gripped the armrest of his seat, then cut in with, "He's throwing a fucking party at his house. That's where he's been!"

Sasuke eyed his associate with displeasure, then nodded at Jugo. Jugo, who had been standing guard by the door, stepped forward and clocked Suigetsu in the face.

"OW, what the FUCK?"

He told Karin to continue.

"The servers crashed. All balance transfers, ledgers, funds. Everything is offline. It's a fucking nightmare."

Sasuke furrowed his brow before asking, "How is that possible?"

"What do you think I've spent the past ten hours trying to figure out moron?!"

Suigetsu cradled his face in agony and muttered, "Why does she get away with talking to you like that?"

Karin grumbled, "Because I'm his best friend's cousin, asshole!" her voice carried on, "It looks like it was... intentional."

Sasuke tapped his fingers against the table top, his leg beginning to unconsciously bob up and down from the anxiety.

"Intentional?" he questioned.

"An intentional cyber attack," she clarified.

Sasuke's mind was racing. Their set-up was bullet proof. Secure. Everything was behind so many firewalls, he himself couldn't even straighten out the way to break it.

The ledgers, the encrypted currency— it was in the billions. For it to be wiped and turned upside down in less than 24 hours was unfathomable.

"Is…" he paused, taking a breath. "Is the money _gone_?" he asked quietly.

If it was, they were all dead. He was certain they'd be murdered execution style and piled into the same sloppy grave.

_Not just a grave_ , he amended. _A grave with concrete poured over it._

The people that were transacting on his website ranged from stupid college kids looking for cheap, quality drugs, to the literal evil incarnate. Scum of the earth. It was the scum of the earth that didn't take kindly to the spontaneous disappearance of vast amounts of money.

Karin was typing and continuously muttering under her breath.

"No. It's all still here. Just. The transaction codes and the encrypted exchange history have been wiped. I'm trying to recover it all now. But..."

More typing, and then a crash. She had thrown the keyboard.

"Ugh! But I need your help. This is all hands on deck. Get over here as soon as you can."

And then she hung up.

"Motherfucker."

He slammed the phone onto the desk. Eyeing it distrustfully, he knocked it to the ground. He proceeded to crush it beneath the heel of his shoe. He stared at the broken glass and jumble of wires for a moment in a daze, then looked up sharply at his associates.

"Get out of here," he demanded. "And grab Nara on your way out and take him with you."

Suigetsu stood up, "Aren't you coming?"

Sasuke stood as well and signaled at Jugo to give him another cigarette. As the larger man took one out, Sasuke changed his mind. He shook his head and said, "Just give me the whole fucking box."

Jugo nodded in acquiescence as Sasuke snatched the pack out of his hand.

Sasuke lit the square, took a drag and responded to Suigetsu, "I need to clear out the house and get my… get my girlfriend out of here."

Despite the circumstances, Suigetsu smirked and whistled.

Sasuke's face was set in stone. He blew smoke in Suigetsu's direction.

"Do you want to lose your front teeth? Shut the fuck up and get to work."

With that, he pushed past them, trusting them to know the way out.

* * *

Ino and Sakura were dipping their toes in the pool. The pool lights below the water surrounded its perimeter, making the water sparkle in the dark. Sakura was shaken, but tried to quell the feeling. She would just ask Sasuke what was going on. Simple.

Shikamaru sat behind them on a chair, puffing a cigarette and eyeing the manicure on Ino's fingers. One of her hands was placed behind her on the brick, the varnish on her nails shining. He'd missed the altercation outside, and had stepped out again shortly afterwards. He had a decent buzz. Uchiha's house was a bit too grandiose for his tastes, but he could admit that it was a good backdrop for an impromptu graduation party. If Ino had tried to stuff this many people into their apartment he would not have been happy.

He looked up as footsteps approached.

"Hey man."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. The guy in front of him was the definition of slime.

The girls perked up and turned around.

Suigetsu nodded his head in their direction, "Ladies."

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked suspiciously.

Ino shared a look with Sakura. This guy knew Shikamaru too?

"I'm having... an after party at the... old place. The girlfriend," Suigetsu scowled here as if the word girlfriend made him want to vomit. "She wouldn't mind if you joined. She could use your help recovering for lost time."

"Shika, who the hell is this guy?" Ino belted out in confusion.

Shikamaru dropped his cigarette to the ground and put the butt out beneath his foot.

He stood up, maintaining eye contact with Suigetsu. He grabbed his light jacket from the back of his chair and then lazily looked at Ino.

"You guys head home without me. I'm going to catch up with some old friends. Don't wait up."

* * *

Sasuke's eyes swiveled around the people left in this room of his house. Outside of a couple stragglers, it thankfully wasn't much.

Finally, he spotted the idiot lounging on the white sectional of the main living room. He was nursing a Coca-Cola and looking overly comfortable.

_Fucking clown._

He approached him quickly.

"Bastard! Where the fuck did you run off to? You were there," Naruto pointed, "and then you were gone!"

Sasuke sat next to the bozo he reluctantly categorized as his closest friend. He lit another cigarette then asked, "Are you drunk? How much did you drink tonight?"

Naruto side-eyed the cigarette. He took a sip of his Coke, then reached over and grabbed the stick from Sasuke's long fingers. He took a drag. Sasuke glared at him until it was back in his hand, then made a face of disgust when he'd taken a subsequent puff. Naruto's lips had wet the entire filter.

_Ugh._

Naruto coughed as they watched a couple people making the trek towards the front door.

"Nah, I'm not drunk," he started. Dramatically, he continued, "I mostly just got blown to the dome with you, when we were playing pool. I'm _super stoned._ "

He took another sip of his soda and adjusted himself on the couch cushion before talking further.

"Don't tell anyone," he added for emphasis. "You know how judgey Ino is about that shit, I don't wanna deal with her."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. He stood up, finished his cigarette and dropped it into the can in Naruto’s hand. They heard it sizzle and stared at each other from the sound.

Naruto looked down to his tainted drink in disbelief, letting out a shocked, "Wow."

"Get the rest of these people out of my house and then take Sakura home."

Naruto placed the can on the coffee table and then stretched his arms with a yawn before getting up as well.

"How am I supposed to do that? Fucking put her on the handle bars of my nonexistent bike?"

"Take one of the cars," Sasuke stated.

Naruto noticed Sasuke's fingers twitching erratically, but disregarded it as his eyes gleamed from the proclamation.

"No shit? Sick bro! Which one?"

"I don't care, take whichever one you want."

Sasuke started walking back down the hallway. He needed to get upstairs and change. This fucking sweater was suffocating him. Just. Everything was suffocating him.

Naruto followed after him and was rubbing his hands together excitedly. They approached the bottom of the staircase and Naruto spotted the back of Shikamaru's head as it disappeared through the open front door.

"Wait, why can't _you_ take Sakura home?" he questioned.

Sasuke could feel his main phone vibrating a hole through his pocket and saw Sakura through a large window, sitting in her tight blue dress at the edge of the courtyard. She was texting furiously. After washing the dye out, she'd styled her hair in waves that cascaded down her back. The color was now a jarring hot pink from the fresh job. He knew it would fade a shade with time, but he was thrown off by the change regardless.

"I'm going to an after party," he responded, turning his focus back to Naruto.

"Sweet, why don't we all go with you?"

"You guys are not invited," Sasuke replied.

Naruto looked at him with suspicion.

"What sort of ratchet shit is going on at this after party that you can't take us with you?" Naruto questioned.

Sasuke ran a hand through his dark hair and then looked Naruto in the eye before opening with, "We're going to…"

He was thinking quickly, sifting through his brain and then he had it.

"We're going to drop some acid."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Remember the last time you did that?" Sasuke continued.

Sasuke noticed the tips of Naruto's ears begin to turn an angry shade of red.

The blond looked behind him in paranoia and then harshly whispered, "Hey man! You said you'd never tell anyone about that."

Sasuke could feel his own neck getting hot. He gritted his teeth.

_**Fucking.** Fucking. Naruto!_

"Dude, just get the fuck out of here," he said exasperated.

Naruto gave him a look, then pulled out his phone to keep his hands busy.

"I'm serious, you better not have told Sakura that story."

Sasuke shook his head in annoyance and then made his way to head up the stairs. Why would he fucking do that? The memory was just as embarrassing for him as it was for Naruto. He was certain neither of them had touched the hallucinogen since.

It had been freshman year, before he dropped out of his program and before he had begun dating Sakura. Naruto had obtained the LSD from a frat house across the street from his apartment and had roped Sasuke into trying it with him.

* * *

" _I love you man."_

" _Yeah," he replied, absently._

_Sasuke's eyes couldn't seem to choose what to stare at. The floor was swimming. The wall was swimming. He was cradling a pillow to his chest to keep himself grounded to the couch._

" _No, like I_ _ **really**_ _love you."_

_His head snapped towards Naruto, who was edging a little too closely to him on the sofa._

_He felt a snake, crawling along his shoulders, slithering up his arm and over his legs. Then he looked down and realized it was Naruto's hand caressing him over his shirt and his pants._

" _Dude. WHAT THE FUCK!"_

_He'd shoved him angrily aside and to the ground. He'd then proceeded to glare at him for five minutes straight, before they both laughed uncontrollably for the rest of the hour._

* * *

"Stop. STOP. You're remembering it!" Naruto shouted while pointing at him from the landing.

He looked around again before continuing in a conspiratorial whisper, "I didn't come on to you, _you_ came on to me!"

"I'm exiting this conversation now moron," Sasuke tossed, as he disappeared up the stairs.

* * *

"All right ladies, I am your designated driver this evening. If you'll follow me, your chariot awaits."

Naruto was being corny.

Ino snorted as she sipped on the end of her margarita. She looked up at Naruto, who had approached them in the courtyard.

"How are you going to take us home? I don't think walking us there counts as giving us a ride," she said smartly.

Sakura looked up from her phone.

"I saw you through the window talking to Sasuke, where did he go?" she demanded.

"Sasuke..." Naruto recalled the damning acid trip and felt his ears getting hot once again. "Sasuke went out!" he proclaimed.

Sakura's eyebrows came together and she looked down at her phone again. No new messages.

Ino noticed her friend's agitation and redirected the attention back to Naruto.

"So? How are you giving us a ride again?"

Naruto pumped his hands in excitement.

"That bastard said I could borrow whichever one of his cars I wanted!"

Ino squealed, "Oh. My. God! I've always wanted to drive in a Rolls-Royce!"

* * *

After Naruto had cleared the house of the last of the guests, he and Sakura did a lap around the estate to ensure no one was loitering around in any of the rooms.

Naruto whistled, "Geez, once in a while this place reminds me of a tomb."

Sakura looked sad as they came back down the grand staircase to retrieve Ino, her face drawn.

"Tell me about it."

Ino stood up and yawned. She was crashing. It was close to 4:00 a.m. at this point.

"Let's get a move on, the ride of my dreams is waiting!" she proclaimed.

"Which way's the garage again?" Naruto looked pointedly to Sakura.

She led them through the house and down through the lower level. As they descended the stairs, the darkness of the garage was stifling.

"It's—it's really dark..." Ino said unsurely.

Sakura, unbothered, kept stepping forward.

"The lights have a motion sensor!" she supplied.

As she hit the stone landing, sure enough, the fluorescents in the ceiling came to life.

"Holy shit!" Naruto explained.

Ino put her hand on her hip and messed with the handle of her purse before she began a rant.

"Really? Does he really need like thirty cars? This is like a crowded downtown parking garage, on a weekend. What the fuck?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders, "Don't look at me, you guys know he's got a few screws loose."

Naruto ran up to the key closet, opened the metal door with a resounding bang and sifted through the various keys.

"Shit. I need to pee," Ino exclaimed. "But isn't the nearest bathroom like five miles back upstairs?"

Sakura laughed, "No there's a den down here. Come on, I'll take you."

"Naruto!" she yelled across the garage. "We're going to the bathroom!"

He waved them off, not paying attention. His eyes shined at the options. This was too cool. Next time he saw Sasuke he was going to demand that they have a long overdue bro date to test drive all this shit together.

The acid trip memory prickled at his brain again. Well, maybe he wouldn't call it a _date_ to Sasuke.

* * *

Ino stumbled after Sakura in her wedged sandals.

"Seriously, Sakura. He lives here alone? This place is MASSIVE."

Sakura led her through the modern basement lounge and shrugged a sleeved shoulder.

"He's spoiled. Besides, his brother's been staying the past month."

She pointed the bathroom out to Ino and then sat herself down on the dark grey of a nearby suede sofa to wait.

Ino kept the door open and dropped her bag on the edge of the trough sink within.

Sakura could hear her peeing.

"Where are their parents?" she yelled out.

Sakura yawned and adjusted the cross body of her bag.

"I dunno. Like Bermuda or something?"

Sakura could count on half a hand the amount of times she'd even seen Sasuke's parents. It was always Itachi in place of a traditional guardian.

She could hear Ino washing her hands and turning the light off.

"That bathroom was bigger than my room at the apartment," she complained.

Sakura smiled.

Ino gave her a sassy look, then said, "Is this why you're always over here? You're playing house in a palace?"

Sakura shoved her playfully, "Oh, shut up!"

* * *

Once they'd entered the garage again, Ino froze at the headlights that were glaring at them.

"He told you to take any car you wanted and you— you picked a fucking Mini Coupe?!" she asked, outraged.

"Fuck yeah, baby!" Naruto yelled from behind the steering wheel.

Sakura made a face.

"I bet you didn't even know he had this, did you Sakura-chan?!"

"Can't say that I did," she supplied.

She approached the passenger side and opened the door. Sloppily, Ino clambered into the back seat before Sakura pushed the chair back and sat down in the front.

"This shit is sick. Look, look it's a convertible," Naruto exclaimed. He kept pressing the button to pull the roof on and off repeatedly, as if that would help illustrate his point to the girls.

"You sure you're not drunk?" Ino asked suspiciously.

Naruto's hand froze on the roof button.

"Drunk? Nooooo, I'm definitely not _druuuuunk._ "

Sakura tamped down a smile. She knew a stoned Naruto when she saw one, but she wasn't going to throw him to the wolves.

* * *

_TBC..._


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for intercourse (trigger warning) and language. If you are uncomfortable with these themes, do not proceed._

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

"What the hell have you been doing Uchiha?"

Nara sat in a computer chair on his right. His face engrossed in the screens before him as his fingers danced across the keys of a mechanical keyboard.

"I helped you write this site code for kicks. I didn't think you were going to turn this operation into a place where people could order goddamn black market organs. Jesus Christ," he scolded.

Sasuke clenched his jaw, his posture tense in his computer chair.

"The website took on a life of its own. I had no control over it."

His hair was in disarray, standing up wildly in all directions from the amount of times he'd ran his shaking fingers through it. He bit at his nail and glared at Nara as he worked, triggered by the man's reprimand.

Karin came between them, her hands smashing on the long table between their keyboards. Her choppy red hair flared with the motion, the lenses of her glasses reflecting the blue light from their monitors.

"As touching as this little reunion is," she looked from Sasuke to Shikamaru, "We are running out of time."

She pointed at a particular segment of Shikamaru's screen before speaking.

"There is an issue—" Shikamaru's eyes darted back and forth, reading through the lines of code at great speed, "—There," she supplied.

Sasuke turned to his own two monitors, logging in to the backend of the system and pulling up the most recent log files.

Karin walked around their desks to her own set up. The three of them sat in a triangle formation as they got to work reversing the damage to the site. For the next ten minutes, the resounding clicks and clacks of their keys was all that could be heard throughout the warehouse loft.

Suigetsu was dozing on a couch in the corner of the loft, Jugo nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, asshole!" Karin suddenly yelled.

Suigetsu jerked awake with a start. He had been steadily slumping further and further into the leather of the sofa, his arms loosely crossed.

"Get us some coffee," she demanded.

He squinted at her, then yelled, "Oyyy, Jugo!"

Jugo popped his head in through a doorway, materializing seemingly out of thin air. His stealth was one of the many skills in his repertoire that had gotten him the job with this crew.

Suigetsu motioned at the trio with his thumb, "Get them some coffee."

Jugo saluted, then melted away into the darkness.

Karin made a noise of agitation and threw a stapler in Suigetsu's direction, huffing behind her monitors. Unappreciative of the distracting commotion, Sasuke peered over his screen and silenced her with an icy glare.

"Karin."

She hunched down, then continued to work. Nara was typing away next to him, his face set in an expression of passive concentration.

"Here," Shikamaru proclaimed after a time. "You have someone who entered via this backdoor," he pointed, "and ran a Trojan script on your transaction data."

Sasuke rolled his chair over to inspect the discovery. He leaned in, his eyes darting around the display as he assessed Nara's findings.

"Who the fuck would do that?" he muttered in agitation.

Karin piped up, "...there's a signature."

Sasuke straightened, looking at her expectantly.

Nara finished the thought, "I see it. It's encrypted. Hard to say."

Sasuke wheeled back to his desk and bit his fist. _Fuck, fuck, fuck._

He pulled out another cigarette and lit it, tossing his lighter onto the surface of the desk with a clatter. It did not escape him that Nara was eyeing the cig in his hand with interest.

"I'm not sharing," he bit out.

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulder and kept working.

Sasuke held his cigarette between his lips to free his hands. With the square held securely by his mouth, he yelled around it to Suigetsu. He was multitasking, typing vast strings of code at a rapid fire rate. His grey eye and his black eye moved quickly from left to right on his screen.

"Sup, Boss?" Suigetsu drawled.

"Get online and log in to the master admin account. Start answering questions on the message boards."

Sasuke removed a hand from his keyboard to ash the cigarette on the ground, then put it back in his mouth, drawing smoke. His fingers once again glued themselves to the tabs on his keys.

Suigetsu groaned as he got up, "Why do I always get stuck doing the bitch work?"

"Because that's all your bitch ass is good for!" Karin belted out.

Sasuke peered at her, lip curled around his square, expression unimpressed.

"Sorry," she squeaked. She adjusted her glasses and bent her head down, immersing herself in her job once again.

* * *

Sasuke did not leave the warehouse until 2:00 p.m. the next day.

They'd worked on counteracting the attack on the site well through the morning and early afternoon. He couldn't remember when he'd last slept. He could feel the dark circles under his eyes weighing down his entire face. The eye strain from staring at lines of code for eleven hours straight had made his vision bleary.

He rubbed at an irritated eye as he fell through the front door. He'd been too exhausted to park in the garage, the prospect of having to expend his energy taking two sets of fucking stairs afterwards out of the question.

He walked past the kitchen entryway, dragging his feet towards the grand staircase.

"Sasuke."

He stopped in his tracks. Hanging his head down, he backtracked towards the kitchen.

He glanced into the large, white marbled room, noting a subtle stench of stale beer and an overflowing garbage can. There were empty liquor bottles lining the kitchen island and discarded, oily pizza boxes stacked high on one of the counters.

He pinpointed his brother sitting at the table by the bay window.

Itachi had his work phone and his personal phone in front of him, stacked on top of a sleek, closed laptop. His hand was wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee that rested on the surface of the table's white granite.

Itachi was looking at him sternly, his gaze pointed and his expression annoyed.

"I told you to stay out of trouble," he said.

Sasuke froze, eyes widening.

What was he saying? The air flew out of Sasuke's lungs. His blood turned to ice in his veins. He felt like his soul was leaving his body. He opened his mouth, then closed it. His hand grabbed nervously at the bottom of his shirt.

"The house? It's in a bad state. What happened here last night?" Itachi finished.

_Oh, what the_ _**fuck?** _

Sasuke's jaw relaxed, willing his heartbeat to stabilize. He controlled his breathing before attempting to respond.

"Sakura—" he started unsettled, "Sakura and Naruto threw a graduation party."

"And where is Sakura now?"

"She… she wanted to go home after," he lied.

"I see."

Itachi was giving him a look like he knew he was spitting bullshit.

Sasuke was bone weary. The issues with the site had been astronomical. He felt defeated. On top of that, they hadn't been able to crack the encryption on the signature. They had no idea who executed the attack. Fuck everything.

He just wanted to smoke a joint and knock out for the next twelve hours in his room.

He missed living alone. Itachi was half annoying older brother and half parent, and it drove him insane to have to deal with him in both capacities. He hadn't answered to anyone for the past four years. Suddenly having an older adult in a house that no one save for Sakura had really occupied with him throughout his early twenties grated on his nerves.

"I'll call Ayame and her cleaning team to come a couple days early," he offered.

_This is my olive branch,_ he thought. _Take it you douchebag._

Itachi looked at him, nonplussed. He took a sip of his coffee and straightened the cuff of his sleeve.

"You do that," he began, "and then send her to me afterwards so I can straighten out any confusion regarding who is responsible for... payroll."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

He said nothing, turned his back on Itachi and left.

* * *

Sakura had not wanted her friends to see how upset she actually was on Saturday night.

She'd tried hard not to let Sasuke's abrupt disappearance at the graduation party ruin the end of her evening. The party had been fun and there had been positive vibes up until that point. She didn't want to be THAT girl— crying, drunk, dramatic and hysterical over her stupid boyfriend.

She didn't want her friends to have to take care of her or to sully their evening with her problems. She'd put on a brave front outwardly, but had texted Sasuke back-to-back about what she had witnessed in the courtyard, to no response.

> _**"Who were those people?"** _
> 
> _**"Where did you go?"** _
> 
> _**"Are you okay?"** _
> 
> _**"Sasuke?"** _

Naruto had dropped her and Ino off close to 5:00 a.m. Despite her exhaustion, she'd laid awake in her bed unable to sleep, prisoner to her swirling thoughts.

" _...where's Karin? ...where's Karin? ...where's Karin?"_ echoed around in her skull.

Her face crumpled. Why had he disappeared again? And if he was going to disappear so often, why wouldn't he at least tell her where he was going?

She hadn't left her bedroom for all of Sunday. She'd buried herself underneath her covers, her body scrunched into a ball.

As Sunday wore on and she still hadn't heard from him, her worry and sadness began to morph into something else.

Resentment. Anger. Pent up rage. It was the straw that broke the camel's back

_Fuck him,_ she thought.

She set notifications from him to mute on her phone. She unplugged from her device, citing to herself that she'd been too dependent on it lately. It was a battle of wills to keep it out of her hands. If she didn't absolutely need it, she forced herself to leave it alone on her side table or in her bag.

As commencement week kicked off on Monday, she took it out to take pictures and coordinate meet ups across campus with her friends.

She pointedly ignored the unread messages that began piling up from Sasuke in his thread.

After Tuesday, he'd started calling. Twice a day. Then three times a day. Then four times a day.

" _...where's Karin? ...where's Karin? ...where's Karin?"_

She let it go to voicemail every time.

* * *

As the week of ceremonies and celebrations wrapped up, she found herself sitting with Naruto at a coffee shop near campus. They'd spent many a late night here studying throughout their tenure at the school.

She reflected on the past week. She'd walked the stage to accept her diploma, elated at the achievement. She'd gone to lunch with Ino, Shikamaru and their parents to celebrate. She'd gone to dinner with her own parents and smiled at their praise.

" _How's Sasuke? her mom had asked._

" _He's fine," she'd responded mechanically._

She'd hugged all the moms and dads with love and joy and sent them back out of town.

But... she couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey Naruto," she began carefully.

Naruto rounded his blue eyes in her direction.

"Didn't you have a cousin that used to come around?" she posed innocently. "What was her name?"

Naruto scratched at his chin and then took a sip of his coffee.

"Karin? Yeah. What about her?"

Sakura ran a hand through her hair, vaguely recalling the feel of Sasuke's fingers as he helped her dye it. She sipped her cold brew and continued.

"What's she been up to these days?"

Naruto thought for a minute. He looked around the coffee shop absently, his eyes briefly focused on a muffin behind the glass of the cafe's pastry display, before looking back to Sakura.

"Beats me," he shrugged his shoulders. "Why don't you ask Sasuke? I think she hangs around with him sometimes. He'd probably know better to be honest."

Sakura tensed up. Her hand clutched her drink tightly as she stared through Naruto with a look of consternation.

Naruto waved a hand in front of her face.

"Earth to Sakura-chan. Are you okay?"

Sakura remained quiet. Her heart was racing. She could feel her breath quickening.

Hung around... with Sasuke? But _why?_

Why was Sasuke hanging out with Naruto's female cousin? Why didn't she know about this? What… what were they doing together?

Abruptly, she stood up. Her chair made a loud screech as it pushed back with her sudden movement.

"I— I have to go," she spit out, before grabbing her phone and purse and running off.

"Wait. What? Sakura!"

She was gone, the shop door already shutting behind her. The ice in her abandoned drink melted as it sat forgotten on the table.

* * *

It had been over a week since the fiasco at the warehouse. Sakura's graduation had come and gone. But as it were, Sakura was not answering her phone. She was not answering his texts. He distinctly remembered her demanding lunch from him to celebrate. Instead, she'd proceeded to fall off the face of the earth.

Sasuke was standing in the kitchen, staring at his phone with such intensity he was surprised it didn't combust.

He dropped it on the island counter and walked to the fridge, pulling open the door. Eyeing the contents, he snatched at a container of organic cherry tomatoes. Taking it back to the island, he fumbled with the top in annoyance until he got it open.

Half the tomatoes rolled out over the glossy white marble, a couple dropping onto the matching marble floor.

He groaned and let the mess be, shoveling a handful into his mouth.

"What's going on little brother?"

_Great._

He looked up at Itachi with disdain. He was chewing his tomatoes with such vigor that he felt a vein in his neck protruding. Itachi shook his head at him and approached the counter, picking one off and eating it as well.

"Hands off! Those are mine," he fumed.

"Stop throwing a tantrum," his brother sighed out.

Itachi walked to the fridge to grab himself a bottle of water and then returned to sit at a bar stool across from him.

"Why are you still here?" Sasuke questioned.

Itachi looked at him for longer than necessary before replying, "My work assignment is... taking longer than anticipated. I will be here for the foreseeable future."

Sasuke glared at him in silence. He was lying.

Itachi stared back and then cracked the seal of his bottled water. Switching gears, he asked, "Where is Sakura?"

"What do you care?" Sasuke shot back.

Sasuke wiped his hands on the black cloth of his crisp, gold zippered hoodie, peeking down at his white shirt underneath to make sure he hadn't inadvertently dirtied it with tomato.

"She has not been around in over a week," Itachi floated cautiously.

Sasuke looked at him sullenly. Fuck Itachi and his button up dress shirts, and his nice pants, and his nice shoes, and his stupid hair.

His brother continued, "She makes you happy doesn't she? If you are happy, I am happy."

Sasuke felt like he was pouting now. He tried with difficulty to wipe the emotion off of his face.

"She hasn't been answering," he said quietly.

Itachi scoffed here, taking a sip of his water.

"Has that stopped you before? Go check on her."

Sasuke looked at his brother, a face so identical to his own, and lingered on his side of the counter. His gaze fell to the haphazard tomatoes with indecision.

"I'll clean up your mess. Get out of here."

And so he left.

* * *

Sasuke parked his car near Sakura's building around 5:00 p.m. He walked around back, climbed up the fire escape with ease and approached her window. The gauzy curtains were drawn. The window was locked.

"Shit."

He rapped on the glass with his knuckles. No movement. He groaned. He did not want to deal with Yamanaka or see Nara again any time soon.

He climbed back down and went around front. Swallowing down his aggravation, he knocked on the front door.

He waited. And waited. Finally, Nara opened up.

"Yo. You're lucky Ino isn't here," he opened the door wider, gesturing at him to come inside.

_That bitch got trashed at my house_ , Sasuke thought to himself. The _least_ she could do was _fuck off._

He looked aloofly at the slightly shorter man as he stepped through the threshold. Nara was in his house clothes, his ponytail messy. Clearly, he'd been disturbed from a nap. Inwardly, Sasuke rolled his eyes at this. The guy was such a waste of space.

He slid his hand into the pocket of his black jeans and asked if Sakura was home.

Nara looked him up and down before nodding.

As Sasuke walked to her closed door, Shikamaru asked, "Everything straight now?"

He was asking about the site, Sasuke knew. Sasuke turned back around.

"For now."

Pained, like teeth were being pulled from his mouth without anesthesia, he added, "Thanks. For... your help."

Nara gave him a disgusted look as he walked past him towards his room.

"Don't ask for it again."

Then he slammed the door shut.

_Piece of shit._

Sasuke let out a growl and grabbed at the knob of Sakura's door, letting himself in with no discretion.

She yelped from her spot on the floor at her mirror, looking at him in surprise through the reflection.

She was in a cute bra and tight short shorts, applying makeup. Her face contorted into a look of displeasure at the sight of him. He shut the door and leaned against it.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curtly.

He stared at the back of her head. He noticed that her hair had now settled and faded back to a dusty, light pink. She had it up in a loose bun, some strands escaping down to her slim neck.

She was giving him a mean glare in the mirror as she waited for him to respond, her green eyes cold.

"You weren't answering. So..."

"So, what?" she countered.

"So..." he frowned. _I was worried about you._

Why was she being such a bitch?

He moved to sit on her bed.

He stretched his long legs in front of him as he sat down, pointing his black and white sneaker clad feet before putting them flat on the ground. He rested his palms behind himself, continuing to stare at her.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed the graduation cap and tassel resting on her desk alongside a vase of fresh flowers.

Sakura released a sound of vexation. He was so stifling. His presence was like a giant black cloud of doom to her in that moment. She tried to draw her eyeliner on her top lid, but her hand shook and the line got too thick.

"Ugh!"

She dropped the pencil and grabbed a cotton swab from the cosmetics bin in front of her.

Sasuke cocked his head to the side, his unruly hair shifting into his eyes with the motion.

"What are you getting ready for?" he questioned.

She wet the Q-tip with her tongue, an action he aptly observed from his angle, and then she lifted it to her eye to correct her mistake.

"I'm going out," she said tartly.

"Going out where?" he asked.

"...just out," she pursed.

_Perfect._ She had fixed the liner. Though, now she was convinced she looked a little more like a hooker than what she was actually going for, but whatever.

"With who?" he continued.

She turned around to finally look at him. She was annoyed at his nonchalance. Annoyed at his boldness, thinking he could just show up at her house when she was clearly very angry with him.

"A friend from class."

He lifted his eyebrow. This conversation was going nowhere.

"You don't know him," she added.

_There._ She saw him stiffen before she turned back to the mirror.

His hands bunched into the sheets of her bed in anger as he attempted to control his breathing. _She was doing this on purpose._ She was acting this way on purpose. But why?

He remained silent as she got up to go look through her closet. She sifted through the garments on the hangers. Each piece she paused at was more scandalous in nature than the last.

_What the fuck?_

She settled on a black dress that he could really only describe as a piece of cloth. As she pulled it out, he shot up from her bed, strode over to her and tore the hanger from her hand in frustration. He tossed the dress to the ground.

"What are you doing?" he seethed.

She glared up at him. Her heavy eye make up made her stupid green eyes sparkle, but he ignored it.

"Why are you hanging out with Naruto's cousin?" she burst out.

Sasuke's breath caught. She had heard something at the party. He knew it. _Fuck_.

He put his hands on her bare shoulders and looked her in the eyes. She could see the closeted panic behind his gaze and her suspicions were further ignited.

"It's—it's not like that," he started.

She shoved his hands away.

"Then tell me Sasuke, what's it like?"

She put her hands on her hips in outrage and waited for him to formulate a response. When he couldn't, she scoffed at him and tore her shorts off in frustration. She reached down for her slutty dress, clearly thinking she was going to put it on and leave the house to meet up with...

_You don't know him._

He smacked the dress out of her hand and her mouth dropped in shock.

"Fuck off Sasuke! You don't seem to have a good explanation, so I think we're done here."

She turned her back on him, maybe attempting to open the door to kick him out, he wasn't sure, but he didn't give her enough time to allow any such thing.

He grabbed her arm and whipped her back around to face him.

Livid, she lifted her free hand. She swung it back to smack him across the face, but he grabbed that arm too.

Holding her wrists tightly he brought his face down to hers and aggressively said, "There is no one else but you."

And then he was devouring her. Moving his lips against hers with so much pent up frustration that her brain short circuited. She tried to yank her wrists out of his hands but was not successful. In a daze she tried one more tug before succumbing to the kiss. They were at war with their mouths. A clash of teeth and tongue and lips.

She could feel his anger radiating off his body. _Good,_ she thought. Now he knows how she felt about him hanging out with another woman!

He tore his mouth off of hers and flipped her around so that her back was against his clothed chest.

He was breathing hard and so was she. He paused for a deliberate moment and then took both of her arms and crossed them behind her back.

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Sasuke. Wh-what?"

"Shut up," he bit out. He pulled her down to the floor and forced her to lie on the ground, flat on her stomach.

"Just shut up, Sakura."

He was keeping her hands held behind her back with one hand, and fumbling around for something with the other. She felt his knee replacing his hand to pin her down, and turned her head over her shoulder to see what he was doing. She caught him wringing the black dress into a semblance of a rope. Her eyes widened further.

"Seriously, what the hell are you doing?! You can't—you can't solve every problem with sex Sasuke."

He glared at her from his vantage point and then reached down to tie her hands with the dress.

She let out a defeated sigh and rested her cheek on the hardwood, listening to the rustle of his clothes as he removed every article of what he was wearing from his body.

He pulled her panties down and off of her and then she felt his hands come to rest on each side of her, his arms caging her in on the ground.

And then he was entering her. Holding his top half up from her and pumping in and out. She let out a strangled moan.

His breath was erratic, the force of him overwhelming. The sound of their skin making contact penetrated the room and she panted quietly as he filled her.

Then abruptly, he stopped. He held himself unmoving inside of her. She clenched herself around him in an attempt to get him moving again, but when he remained still, she twisted her head to look at him once more.

"Why are you stopping?!" she cried out, frustrated.

He suddenly seemed spaced and disoriented. Like he'd forgotten what he was doing and who he was doing it with.

"Sasuke?" she asked, a tinge of worry involuntarily blanketing her tone.

He looked down at her, his mismatched eyes coming back into focus. Then he untied her hands and let her move her arms into a more comfortable position near her head, before dropping his full weight over her.

He picked up his thrusts again and she let out a sigh. The side of his face was close to hers now, his large hands hovering over her petite ones. She grasped onto them, lacing their fingers. She was still on her stomach, his chest moving along her back as he fucked her into the floor.

"I'm sorry."

She felt him huff the apology into her ear, so quietly she almost thought she imagined it.

He removed one of his hands from hers and slid it slowly down the side of her, feeling her curves. He slipped it underneath her stomach, then lower, over her center.

She gasped loudly as he worked her from both sides. Her back arched. The tips of her toes fluttered at his ankles. Her hand held onto his tightly, and then she came intensely around him, locked in his oppressive embrace.

* * *

_TBC..._


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for language, alcohol, sexy time and adult themes. If you are uncomfortable with this, do not proceed._

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

He was quietly straightening his clothes and pulling his sweater back on, when he noticed her picking up that stupid dress from the ground.

She frowned at the way it had been wrung into a spiral and was attempting to straighten it back into some acceptable form and structure.

Her makeup was now smeared all over her face, and her hair tangled, no longer in a loose bun.

She paused her ministrations and looked up when she noticed him glaring.

"You're an idiot," she stated. "I was getting ready to go out with Ino."

He felt his jaw click at her confession.

His expression annoyed, he turned his back on her and went into her bathroom to wash his hands.

When he came out, she was wearing the dress. It left little to the imagination and he was not pleased by the amount of exposed leg. The attention to her clavicles and neck. The exposed shoulders. It was just— she was basically unclothed, and that was not something of hers he shared with anybody.

"You can take me out instead," she said.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweater, his fingers briefly pinching the edge of the garment's gold zipper before tucking his hands away. She was back at the mirror, fixing the damage done to her cosmetics and straightening out her hair.

He shrugged a shoulder in acceptance of this.

Her eyes locked onto his in the mirror.

"But," she began.

He tensed.

"We still need to talk," she finished.

Turning back towards the room, she grabbed a tiny glittery hand purse from her wardrobe, a pair of low, red heels off the floor and then walked out the door.

He reluctantly followed her out.

* * *

Sakura was flirting with the fucking bartender. Right next to him. With no shame. Sasuke gripped his whiskey glass tightly and stared straight ahead in irritation.

So she wasn't done with whatever... this shit was yet.

After a couple more minutes of their nonsensical banter, his patience wore thin. He turned his head to glare at the imbecile behind the bar.

Sensing his ire and clearly not having a death wish, the guy stuttered out that he'd come back if they needed another round and scurried off.

Sakura sighed, "You didn't have to scare him off."

She wrapped her tongue around the straw of her cocktail and took a sip while side eyeing him.

She was perched on a leather backed barstool to his left. Her heeled feet were swinging gently, her legs too short to reach the floor.

He moved his hand to grip the back of her chair and leaned in close. The establishment was crowded, but there were still a couple unoccupied stools around the bar.

"What are you doing Sakura?" he asked, voice raspy from being silent for the past hour.

She turned her head to look at him and lifted an eyebrow.

"Still mad at you," she said.

And then she turned back to her drink and downed the whole thing.

He tapped his unoccupied fingers on the surface of the bar and then snapped at the fool working the tap to get her another one.

She leaned back into the arm behind her and purred a sultry thank you in his ear, then picked up her phone off the bar and started texting Ino.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her antics.

Sakura peeked up from her screen as the bartender dropped her drink off and cleared her empty cup. She glanced around the bar and then turned to Sasuke and exclaimed, "I feel like people are looking at us."

He grunted, drank from his whiskey and took a slow look around.

"You're just drunk. No one is looking at us. Drink your drink."

But she wasn't wrong. He noted a handful of eyeballs directed their way, and for what? An attractive, young couple coincidentally both dressed in black. Huddled together drinking. Interacting with a discernible, intense tension were making other people uncomfortable?

_Fuck them._

This was why he didn't like going out.

Sakura was now squinting at the white v-neck beneath his sweater with scrutiny and then poked her finger at the hem near his waist.

"What's that?" she asked.

He looked down, absently noting that she'd swapped her nail polish to green and shaped her nails to square.

Shoot. "Tomato."

She grinned, "Tomato?"

Sakura giggled then reached for his whiskey. He slid the cup out of her reach. But then she did that dumb exasperated pout at him, so he obliged and let her taste it.

She blanched after the liquor hit her throat and gave it back.

"It's bad."

He removed his arm from behind her chair, rested his hand on her bare knee instead, and otherwise did not respond.

* * *

If Sakura's intention was to "talk it out" while she was shit-faced, then he'd call her strategy a success.

Except for the fact that everything slurring out of her mouth at this point was incoherent.

Sasuke had swiveled his stool so that he was facing her now, and she'd done the same. He was leaning slightly forward, gripping the undersides of her knees. Part of him was worried that she was going to topple out of her seat. The bartenders had long since switched shifts. This time it was a woman, who kept pestering him to see if he needed anything. He didn't.

Sakura scrunched up her face after the woman finished pouring them more water and had walked away.

"Skank," she bellowed.

Sasuke smirked, "You're being loud."

Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were lidded. He could see her thick liner and dark eye shadow accentuated in the dim lighting.

"No I'm not."

With little grace, she pushed his hands off of her, then got up from her stool and declared that she was going to the bathroom. Sasuke glowered down at her, holding her in place to adjust the godforsaken dress on her body before she stumbled off, away from him.

He kept an eye on her from his chair until she disappeared behind the restroom door, and then he signaled at the bartender to give him the check.

The woman rang up his card, smiled softly and said, "You guys are cute."

Sasuke ignored her as she handed him the bill, his expression stoic. He signed his name on the receipt and pulled out a fat, folded stack of cash from his back pocket. He pulled a fifty off the top and left it as tip.

He could see the bartender freeze out of the corner of his eye at the action, but he ignored this too. He shoved his money back in his pocket, then stood up.

He collected Sakura's bag and phone from the bar top as she giddily stumbled her way back to him.

Sakura looped her arm through his as he led her out through the crowd and into the night.

* * *

He had parked his car around the corner from the bar, opting for an intentional walk before he got behind the wheel.

Sakura was clinging on to him, her heels click-clacking on the sidewalk.

"Are you okay to drive?" she questioned.

"I had two drinks over four hours. You had six," he responded.

She puckered her lip and frowned in confusion as they kept walking. "Oh."

"Fuck!" she exclaimed suddenly.

She came to a blaring halt in the middle of the sidewalk.

He sighed at the behavior, "What?"

"I don't have my bag!"

He grabbed her hand and dragged her along behind him, getting her to move again.

"I have it, let's go."

They moved a couple steps forward, but then she pulled on his arm, yanking him to another stop.

"But what about my phone?"

She was whining and partially getting on his nerves now. Moreso because she was making a scene, and people were starting to look at HIM like he was causing HER distress instead of the other way around.

"I have that too, come on."

She grumbled and allowed herself to be led the rest of the way to the car.

"You're no fun Sasuke."

She leaned against him as he unlocked the door, opening the passenger side to help her into the vehicle.

Did Sakura realize how often he stayed sober just to get her home in one piece? He was certain she did not spend time thinking about this. He really needed to teach her how to drive so they could switch.

Then again, he thought, alcohol fucked with his medication too much for him to ever really have fun with it anymore.

Lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice her getting aggravated as he leaned over her from the curb to fasten her seat belt.

"Fuck you!" she screamed and then she was beating her small fists against his back in hysteria.

He pulled himself away and grabbed at her hands to still them.

"What the fuck Sakura?!"

"You're—you're cheating on me!" she cried.

She was definitely making a scene now. He could feel random pedestrians slowing down as they walked past his car, eyeing his bent over form in suspicion.

"I'm not," he stated quietly.

"You are!" she shouted, attempting to pull her hands away.

Her face was blotchy, the ridiculous dress that she was so adamant on wearing had ridden so far up her thighs that her lace underwear was visible and she was acting belligerent. She was a mess.

"I'm closing the door now."

He let go of her and stood up, shutting the door in her face. He avoided looking at any of the people who were glaring at him on the street, and got behind the wheel.

Sakura's arms were crossed firmly across her chest, the top of her dress falling dangerously low.

"Since when do you smoke cigarettes?" she berated.

He groaned as he put the key in the ignition.

He fastened his seat belt and smoothly pulled out of the parking space before answering.

"I don't."

She was scowling at him as he drove, her face displeased.

"You do. I saw you at the party."

The party. The fucking party. He was going to murder Suigetsu for showing his face at that stupid fucking party.

All of his problems with Sakura were stemming from that incident. He didn't focus on the fact that maybe his problems were starting to pile up from his illicit activities instead.

"I..." he blanked.

He what? Smoked when the world was ending? Needed the nicotine when he felt like everything was spiraling out of control?

Sakura snorted, "You're full of shit."

And then she looked out the passenger side window and didn't talk to him again for the rest of the drive.

* * *

The lights were on at the house as he pulled up the drive. He side eyed Sakura, trying to assess her state after thirty minutes, but couldn't figure out if she was still wasted or if she'd sobered up.

Sakura bottling up her rage was rare, and he was not the best at controlling... whatever this was.

He pulled into the garage and parked amongst the rest of his cars. He looked at her, got out, and waited for her to stumble after him.

As she pulled herself out of the car, he came up to her and quickly adjusted her dress again. She batted his hands away in agitation.

"Stop fussing," she complained.

His expression ticked off, he grabbed her elbow firmly and led her off through the garage and up the stairs.

He was hoping to avoid Itachi, but as they reached the landing, Sakura sauntered off towards the lit kitchen without him and made the decision to destroy the rest of his evening in one go.

He followed after her in dismay.

"Itachi!" she exclaimed happily.

She'd floated towards his brother's spot at the table where he was sitting and holding an open paperback book up to his face.

"Hello, Sakura."

_Well la dee fucking da_. Sasuke walked past them both and grabbed a beer out of the fridge.

"Sakura's drunk," Sasuke provided as he came back over, sat at the counter and cracked his drink open.

"I wouldn't have guessed," his brother responded.

Sakura fell into the booth at the bay window and kicked off her heels.

"These shoes fucking suck, why did you let me leave the house with these?" she growled at Sasuke.

"I mean, I tried to keep you from wearing that dress but that didn't fucking stop you," he bit out. He took a large gulp of his drink, angered.

"Yeah? That's not all you did with this dress. Fucking asshole!"

His brother, who had clearly been relaxing (if the glass of wine and casual clothes had been any indication), eyed them both over the top of his book, but stayed quiet.

"Get me a beer," she demanded at Sasuke.

"You don't need another drink," he responded as he finished his.

He walked to the fridge to get himself another bottle, when Itachi said his name sternly.

"Sasuke."

He bashed his forehead into the stainless steel before opening the door. Aggressively, he pulled out two beers, walked over to the harpy that the love of his life had morphed into, and slammed the bottle on the table in front of her.

"Here."

He returned to the island counter and dropped himself back into the bar stool. He felt exhausted. He proceeded to kick off his shoes too and knocked back his drink.

Sakura was pouting again. It felt like all she did these days was pout.

"You didn't open it," she said sadly.

His brother put down his book, pulled Sakura's bottle towards himself and opened it with his wine opener before sliding it back to her.

Sakura smiled. That fucking smile that was supposed to be reserved just for him. He felt the rage bubbling in his chest, but tamped it down. She was drunk and acting like a fool he told himself. _Ignore it._

"Thanks Itachi," she said happily. And then when she was looking at Itachi with some far gone, dreamy ass look in her eyes, Sasuke had had enough.

"I'm going upstairs," he declared as he stood up.

He finished his second beer and looked at Sakura pointedly. She looked back at him, sighed loudly and made to stand up.

"Goodnight, Sakura," his brother said quietly.

Sasuke let her walk past him and out of the kitchen with her beer, before turning back to his brother and glaring at him.

"Stop."

Itachi merely stared back, remained silent and then dropped his gaze back down to his book.

* * *

Sasuke trailed behind Sakura as she maneuvered herself up the grand staircase and down the hallway.

"You're not allowed to get this drunk again," he muttered.

"Hold this," she said, as she shoved her beer at him. He took it, and then watched her tear the dress off her body and drop it to the floor.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked, exasperated.

They were nowhere near his room yet. He bent over to grab the piece of cloth that had given him so much grief tonight and followed behind her.

"That dress sucks," she provided. "I actually hate it. I just knew it would make you mad."

They approached his room and he punched on the lights as Sakura glided over to his bed and dropped herself across the mattress.

He put her beer on the wardrobe, tossed the dress in the trash can and dumped her purse, phone, his wallet, phone and keys out of his pockets and onto the surface of the wood with more force than necessary.

"I'm taking a shower," he mumbled.

He disappeared into his bathroom with the door shut.

* * *

After ten minutes, Sakura got restless. She shot up from the bed and opened the bathroom door.

Sasuke's clothes were strewn all over the ground and he was washing his hair in the shower. His back was to her but she walked up to the glass, removing her bra and panties on her way.

He rubbed his eyes to get rid of the water and then turned, spotting her loitering at the shower door.

"What's your problem? Do you want to come in?"

She nodded.

He reached forward, opened the door and pulled her inside.

"Be careful," he grumbled, as she nearly tripped over the marbled step.

Sakura stepped in front of him and doused herself in the stream of the hot water. She sighed in contentment as the water soothed her skin.

He looked down at the top of her head and then reached around her for his body wash.

As he was lathering up, she turned around to face him and then unexpectedly grabbed at his dick.

He gripped her forearm to still her movement and attempted to finish showering himself with one hand.

"Hold on," he said.

She leaned forward, pressing herself against him under the water. He could see water droplets collecting on her eyelashes, her mascara beginning to run. She let her hand drop and sighed.

"Never mind. Can you just... hold me instead?"

He wrapped his arms around her body and held her against his chest as the hot water fell and dripped down the drain.

* * *

When Sakura came to the next morning, her head hurt.

She moaned in discomfort and slowly sat up from her face down position in the middle of the mattress. She was in one of the panties Sasuke had gotten her and nothing else.

It was too bright. She blinked her eyes rapidly and dropped back down.

Sasuke was already up. There was no sign of him in his room.

Blindly, she reached for her phone on Sasuke's nightstand, but her hand came back empty handed.

She moved herself into a fetal position and looked towards his wardrobe. It was resting there next to her purse.

She shut her eyes tightly and thought back to the previous night.

_Had she—_ _had she ripped her dress off in front of Itachi?_

She cringed. No, no that wasn't right.

She hazily recalled sitting in the soft light of the kitchen, a beer in front of her as she bickered with Sasuke in front of his brother.

Sakura cringed again. Still, it was embarrassing.

She rolled herself off the edge of the bed, noticing that the ends of her hair were slightly damp. She couldn't remember taking a shower after getting back, but the evidence was clear enough. Rummaging around in Sasuke's drawers for a change of clothes, she then trudged into the bathroom to freshen up.

* * *

Sasuke was downstairs at the kitchen island, pouring himself some cereal into a bowl when she stepped lightly around the corner.

He looked up at her entrance, made no indication of a greeting, then looked back to his task.

She came up and sat at a bar stool across from him. In a stupor, she watched him pour milk onto his cereal.

He turned, walking towards the fridge to put the milk away. He was dressed in a white tee and light grey joggers.

Sakura looked down at her own flowy white shirt and cozy shorts and when she looked back up, he was placing a glass of orange juice in front of her.

She buried her face into her hands at the counter.

He looked at her for a moment, still kind of annoyed from her being a shit show last night, then picked up his bowl and walked off towards the main living room.

She grabbed her cup and followed him to the sectional couch, sitting adjacent from him as he shoved a spoonful of his breakfast into his mouth.

"Why are you hanging around Karin?" _Fuck it_ , she thought. No bullshit.

He chewed, looked at her out of the corner of his eye and then swallowed.

"She… works for me." he responded.

"Works for you? Doing what?"

"Coding," he supplied

"What sort of coding?" she countered.

"Freelance," he threw out.

She took a sip of her juice, her amber green eyes focused sharply on his face over the glass. She lowered her cup.

"And you pay her for this?"

"Yes."

Sakura raised a well shaped eyebrow, her expression uncertain.

"Is—is coding a euphemism for—"

Sasuke rolled his eyes in frustration, "No. Sakura, get the fuck out of here."

She looked at him, her eyes still skeptical, then finished her drink. She put it down on the glass of the table and stood up.

"Where are you going?" he questioned.

"I want to be alone," she said, as she walked towards the stairs and disappeared from sight.

Sasuke sighed, then dropped his empty bowl onto the coffee table. The spoon clanged against the porcelain and he stared at it ricochet until it stilled in place.

**Fuck.**

* * *

Sakura had been upstairs in his room by herself for an hour. She'd been picking at her nails, her brow furrowed and back resting against the headboard when Sasuke came in.

She gave him a dirty look as he entered, and then she shot up and disappeared into the bathroom to avoid him.

He clenched his teeth. She was being fucking annoying.

He sat on the edge of the right side of the bed, his feet flat on the floor, his knees spread. He was staring an angry hole into the curtains of the window across from him, when she re-emerged ten minutes later. Her hair was combed through and a light sheen of silvery highlighter accented her cheeks.

His eyes followed her as she walked past him to leave, pointedly ignoring him. His hand shot out and grabbed her, pulling her to be seated between his legs.

Her back was against his chest and he felt the sudden rise and fall of hers as she started breathing fast.

He dropped his head over her shoulder, took a deep inhale at her neck and slid his hands up the inside of her bare thighs, up underneath her shirt and to her waist, and then he gripped her rib cage.

She took a sharp inhale.

"You think," he started, "that I touch anyone else like this?"

She was trembling.

He danced his hands around the underwire of her bra. He groped her covered chest and then lifted the shirt off of her, tossing it behind him on the mattress.

"That I want to?"

Her hands had fallen to rest on his knees. She couldn't speak.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her close to his body and then slid his other hand up her sternum, past her collarbone and to her neck. He gripped the skin there, her neck so delicate and small in his hand that he felt himself immediately harden.

She gasped as he angled her head to the side.

The hand at her waist had dropped underneath her shorts and was now playing with her.

He brought his lips to the side of her neck and sucked on her skin, his hand still gripped around her throat.

She stifled a moan as she reached a hand back to tangle into his hair.

"You're fucking stupid Sakura..." he continued against her neck, pulling her shorts and underwear off, throwing them to the ground.

"...If you think I'd get off on doing this to anyone else but you."

Her mouth dropped open as his fingers entered her, working her.

Her small hand fisted harder into his dark locks and he nipped at her earlobe.

The hand that she'd had on his knee had come up to grip his forearm, as he continued to move his fingers in and out of her. Circling around her clit and then back inside her again.

He could feel her pulse going haywire at her neck beneath his palm.

She was heaving and trying to suppress her sounds.

"Let me hear you."

She was beginning to shake, her pleasing noises finally tumbling out of her mouth for him.

And then she was coming in his arms, her core spasming on his digits, her whole body quivering as he held her tight.

She slumped back against him, her legs akimbo. The toes on one of her bare feet had curled with her orgasm.

He caressed her neck before loosening his grip there, then pulled his fingers out of her dripping center. She gasped at the sensation of his digits sliding out of her, but remained seated between his legs. He wrapped both of his arms around her waist.

He dropped his head to her shoulder again, kissing her skin, refusing to let go.

* * *

_TBC..._


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for intercourse, language, graphic depictions of violence and references to drug use. If you are uncomfortable with these themes, please do not proceed. Please keep the comments a safe space for respectful discussion._

**Chapter Fourteen  
**

* * *

Suigetsu was elbow deep in blood, waving around a hacksaw in his face as he bitched about the shitty coffee he'd bought at the gas station that morning.

Sasuke glared at him, one arm crossed across his chest, the other gripping his chin as his patience wore thin.

"What the fuck am I paying you for, that I need to come down here and help you with this bullshit so often?" he demanded.

Suigetsu sneered, and dropped the saw to the metal table below him.

"Well clearly you're not paying enough if you always need to come by and provide a—" he picked a dismembered limb off the surface of the table and lifted it up, "—hand."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stepped forward.

"Heh. Get it?" Suigetsu dropped the blue tinged appendage back down with a gushy plop. The blood splattered around, a couple droplets landing on Sasuke's shirt.

Sasuke looked down in irritation.

"You fucking idiot. You're so—you're so fucking sloppy!" he bit out.

He rubbed at the stain with his fingers, trying to get it out of the fabric but the damage had been done. He raised a furrowed brow at his white haired associate.

Suigetsu put a bloody hand on his hip. He was wearing those stupid ass lavender contact lenses that he was adamant gave him an extra "edge."

"Hey man, you pay me to do the gruesome shit; you don't pay me to do it neat and proper. This ain't the county morgue."

Sasuke groaned and leaned his head back, looking at his partner down the bridge of his nose.

"And by the way, regarding pay, I was thinking something like a bonus…"

Was this moron seriously asking him for a raise right now?

Sasuke straightened his head and cracked his neck.

"No, fuck off," he responded.

His grey and black eyes fell to the mess between them and he waved an impatient arm around at it, wordlessly implying that they get a move on.

"Least I tried," Suigetsu grumbled. "Alright, hand me that wrench back there," he continued, jabbing a thumb behind his shoulder.

* * *

Sasuke took a deep breath as he put his foot on the gas, driving back into town. His expression was bored, but a feeling of mild disgust still lingered. He'd changed his clothes at the trunk of his car and thrown the old set away before departing.

He'd become desensitized to the gore associated with work at this point, but it still annoyed him to get his hands dirty. Most services offered on the site were user managed, every man for himself. To his knowledge, he had never met any of the hired guns who operated on the page. As long as services were rendered and currency transactions executed, he could care less about the minute details of what exactly those services entailed.

Suigetsu himself however, was a hot listing. He was booked often do to fixing or clean-up jobs. Sasuke allowed the moron to transact with less red-tape and guardrails than other users, but in return he took an exorbitantly large percentage out of Suigetsu's profits for that perk.

The drawback there was that the work had been exceeding the manpower of late. Suigetsu had been needing Sasuke or Jugo's help a little _too_ often, and he'd gotten sloppier and sloppier as the workload increased. With the site getting overly popular, things had been getting out of hand. Though Sasuke preferred his original duties as webmaster, the payoff from Suigetsu's jobs was so high, that none of them had it in them to refuse.

His thoughts went back to the attack on the site's transaction data and his expression darkened. That wasn't a one-off problem that he expected to just go away. Someone was starting a battle, and if they weren't careful it would undoubtedly escalate into a war.

Black market cyber warfare, who would have thought.

Sasuke was overseeing a treasure trove of illegal activity. Drug sales, illegal firearms, mercenaries, poisons, counterfeit items, pornography, organs.

Organs. _The fucking organs._

He squinted his eyes as the glare from the sun obstructed his vision and lowered the sun visor as he kept driving.

His main phone was offline, his burner smashed and disposed of before he'd left the meet-up with Suigetsu. He tapped his fingers against his thigh. He wanted to check his messages, but needed to wait.

Sakura had been weird after her confrontation with him. She hadn't asked about Karin or the work that she was doing for him again, but he could tell that her upset was still there. It festered under the surface when she interacted with him lately. He wouldn't label it as an outright mistrust of him, but it was close.

He should never have agreed to that stupid fucking party.

His grip tightened on the steering wheel. He didn't want Sakura to know about any of this.

She wouldn't... she wouldn't love him anymore if she found out.

He frowned, mouth set into a grimace as he pictured his life without her in it.

No.

That had already happened once, when they were in high school. They weren't involved then. But he knew now, six years later, that he had already been in love with her at that time. It was always her. He couldn't remember ever really caring about anyone else. Being interested in anyone else.

That fight had been awful. He'd been so angry and unstable at that age, a hundred times worse than he was now. Itachi could barely deal with him. Their parents had left. Naruto had tolerated him. Sakura had been patient with him… up until that point.

But she'd thrown him away after that altercation, refusing to speak to him, to look at him, to interact with him for an entire year. And that, that had been unbearable. The worst he'd ever felt in his entire life.

He'd gone and fucked a bunch of random older women to forget about his pain, but that method had been exceptionally stupid. He'd been manic and running wild, completely out of control for an entire summer.

Boozing, smoking, fucking, railing any powder he get could his hands on. The randoms he'd slept with had been an attempt to fuck her memory out of existence in his brain, but it hadn't worked.

All he'd gotten out of it was an above average sexual prowess, and a fleeting reputation as a moralless, teenaged manslut with a penchant for lunacy.

On top of that, short of handcuffing him to a chair, Itachi had put him on house arrest for over a month afterwards; shoving his medication forcibly down his throat every day until he'd stabilized.

He supposed the difference now was that he was a moderately more mellowed out adult, albeit obsessed with his girlfriend and unhealthily addicted to having sex with her.

Still a lunatic though. That hadn't changed.

No.

Sakura could not find out about his work.

Absently, he noticed that he had passed the mile marker that put him back in the vicinity of the proper cell towers. He dug his phone out of his front pocket and brought it back online.

He looked down at the screen as he came to a stop at a red light.

There was a missed text from Sakura, timestamped five minutes prior.

> **" _Hi! Pick me up? I'm on campus returning textbooks_."**

He contemplated for a moment. It wouldn't do to show up in the same dated vehicle he'd utilized to meet with Suigetsu. The traffic light changed to green, his phone shifting slightly in his lap as he accelerated forward. He moved it to his hand and then thought his action plan through. He'd need to pass his house on the way to campus.

Decision made, he responded to her with his ETA, then made a brief stop to switch cars.

* * *

Pulling up to the university bookstore, Sasuke sent Sakura a one word message.

> **" _Here."_**

It took her a minute to respond and once he read it, he was not pleased.

> **" _Come inside. I'm in a really long line and it's not moving =["_**

He scowled. There was a reason he dropped out of this fucking school. It irritated him to have to still always lurk around it because of Sakura. Sitting in the lecture halls had felt like the biggest fucking waste of time. He didn't belong there. It didn't feel right for him like it did for Sakura and Naruto.

Irritated, he shifted into drive and moved towards a parking spot. He turned the car off and collected his wallet and phone before reluctantly getting out. Slamming the car door harder than necessary, he trudged off and entered the bookstore.

* * *

The line was long as shit. He'd traversed half of it from the back to the front, until he'd located her pink haired head somewhere in the middle.

She was overloaded with a heavy stack of used textbooks in her arms. Wordlessly, he came up beside her and looked down at her.

She perked up as she felt his arm brush against hers.

"Hi!"

He could see her tiny arms shaking with the weight of her stupid books, so he reached for them and transferred the bulk of the stack to himself. Why she felt the need to waste time selling them back for literal pennies was beyond him.

She smiled then got on her toes, placing a hand on his shoulder for balance. She pressed a lingering kiss to the side of his mouth.

He gave her an unimpressed look. She knew how he felt about public displays of affection. Only allowed if he initiated it. If he wasn't comfortable in the setting, he didn't like it. She'd been disregarding this rule for the past couple months and he was starting to get agitated.

She smirked at his reaction, looking at him like she could read his mind, and then she looked away, rubbing at her sore arms.

"Oy, Sakura! Bastard!"

Inwardly, Sasuke groaned. What the fuck was this shit? She had just asked for a ride, not an entire fucking public outing.

"I thought I saw you guys!"

The moron ran over from the back of the store, his blond hair spiking about.

He had his own stack of books, much smaller in quantity than whatever Sakura was dealing with. He parked himself behind Sasuke, effectively cutting the line with disregard. He was dressed in a university tee and some obnoxiously loud, orange slacks.

"Thanks for saving my spot!" he winked at Sakura.

She laughed, adjusting her small, square leather bag across her cream colored tank top. Sasuke stared.

The crossbody strap resting between her breasts brought too much attention to her chest. Her top was tucked into her skirt, but riding up, exposing the skin at her waist.

Out of breath, Naruto turned to Sasuke, "What are you doing here asshole? Feeling nostalgic?"

Sasuke looked up from the spot on Sakura's midriff he'd been fixated on and clenched his jaw. He glared at Naruto.

This was getting more and more annoying by the second.

"I asked him to pick me up!" Sakura piped up.

Naruto grinned, clearly pleased with this proclamation.

"Great. You can give me a ride home too!" he exclaimed.

Sasuke turned to Sakura and gave her a dirty look. She looked back at him innocently, but said nothing. _She was going to pay for this later_ , he thought to himself.

"Why do you guys treat me like your personal chauffeur?" Sasuke grumbled begrudgingly.

Naruto put a hand to his chin in mock thought, then waved his hand around, pointing a finger before responding.

"I don't know jerk off, maybe because you have thirty cars and neither of us have a single one?"

He adjusted the miniscule stack of books in his grasp before continuing.

"On top of that, what the fuck else do you have to do that's better than hanging out with your BFFs?"

Sakura chose that moment to reach over and close a button Sasuke had missed near the bottom of his short-sleeved flannel shirt. His eyes tracked her fingers for a minute, her nails were gold now and shaped pointy.

"Don't ever say 'BFF' in my presence again," Sasuke muttered.

He stared off to the side as Sakura's hands dropped away. He focused his gaze on a random shelf of books on the other end of the store.

"I call shotgun!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke looked back at him, his grip on Sakura's books tightening before responding.

"No."

After they'd returned their books and left the store, Sakura sat in front.

They dropped Naruto off shortly afterwards, then continued to Sasuke's house.

* * *

Sakura liked when Sasuke drove her around. Oddly, she found it attractive. He'd often have a disinterested look on his face, his actions second nature and without thought. His arms would flex as he gripped the steering wheel, his eyes lazily moving around as he observed his surroundings.

His posture was relaxed, long legs bent but comfortable. If the car he was driving for the day was manual rather than automatic, she'd stare at his fingers on the gear stick as he shifted gears. He liked driving, she knew. It made him feel calm.

He turned his head to her briefly.

"What is it?"

She shook herself out of her trance and looked away from him.

"Nothing," she responded.

She picked at the soft material of her pleated mini skirt, pulling down the bottom of the maroon colored fabric to cover more of her thighs, but to no avail.

He shifted his focus back to the road, tilted his head to the side in thought, but remained quiet.

The drive went by quickly, the late afternoon sun beginning to set as he approached the gate to the estate's driveway.

He lowered his window and punched in the gate code without looking. The gates opened and he drove through, up the drive and then down towards his large parking garage.

After parking, he walked over to her side of the car and grabbed her hand as she got out. She let herself be pulled along, but was confused.

"Why are you yanking me around?" she questioned.

He smirked over his shoulder at her but continued to pull her through the lines of his car collection.

They stopped abruptly in front of the Mini Coupe Naruto had driven her and Ino home in, three weeks ago. The top was rolled back on the convertible, the windows down. They stood at the driver's side of the car, hands still clasped. His unoccupied hand was tucked into the pocket of his faded black jeans.

She laughed as she looked up at him, "This one's a weird choice for you. Naruto took us home in it the night of..." her mood shifted briefly to annoyance before she continued, "The night of the party."

He noticed the subtle shift, but disregarded it. Her face had gone back to neutral, as if the blip had not occurred.

He gave her a knowing and slightly angered glance before saying, "I know. I was fucking pissed off when he drove it back here."

The corner of her lip turned up and she shook her head in an entertained puzzlement.

"Why? You told him to take whatever car he wanted!"

Sasuke let go of her hand and walked around to the passenger side of the car, leaving her near the driver's side.

He gripped the edges of the door, facing her from across the vehicle and leaned slightly forward before speaking.

"Because I got it for you."

She made a weird face at him, a mix of disbelief and embarrassment.

"What?"

He sighed, "It was supposed to be a surprise and that stupid loser fucked it up."

Sakura walked closer to the car, her eyes stuck on it.

"Like, I told him to literally take any fucking car, he could have chosen the Porsche or the fucking Tesla or even the-"

Sakura's head snapped up at him, cutting him off.

"Really? You skipped jewelry and flowers and went straight to car?" she questioned skeptically.

Slightly annoyed at being interrupted, he pressed his lips together and looked at her with feigned indifference.

"Do you want jewelry and flowers from me?" he asked seriously.

She paused. Suddenly uncertain.

It would make sense to want for any other girl, but from Sasuke… those kinds of traditional gifts wouldn't be his style.

He was looking at her expectantly now.

She smiled, letting out a huff of air through her nose. She looked at the car with reverence.

"So this is mine, huh?"

* * *

"Okay, the basics," Sasuke began.

They were sitting in the parked car now, Sasuke in the passenger seat and Sakura in the driver's. She had both her hands placed at the top of the steering wheel, perky with excitement.

"Seat belt!" she chirped.

"Sure, seat belt," he responded.

She clicked the belt into place across her body and then turned to look at him, her expression clearly conveying a 'what's next?' inquisitiveness.

"Adjust your seat and your mirrors."

Sakura looked back at the area around her, confused. Had she ever seen him do any of that before?

She dropped her hands to her lap, lifted one up, then dropped it down again in uncertainty.

Sasuke watched her bewildered movements with amusement, then leaned over the middle console.

He rested one hand on her closest exposed knee and used the other to grip the lever beneath her seat and pull it forward.

Startled, she gasped as the seat moved and locked into place. Her skin tingled where his palm gripped at her, but the sensation did not last long. He straightened up and sat back in his seat.

"It's under there?" she asked.

"Yep," he responded.

She looked to the left, then the right and reached up to adjust the rearview mirror. This, she'd definitely seen him do.

"Mirror, check!" she supplied.

He looked at her and silently shook his head. His knees were bent high as his feet rested flat in front of him, his body a little too large for the small car. There was a tear forming at the knee of the black denim he was donning, the skin of his kneecap peeking through the rip.

"There are two more mirrors," he stated.

She groaned and then felt herself going into a pout. Maybe Sasuke could just continue doing the driving?

He rolled his eyes and leaned over her again. Lifting one of her hands, he guided it to a button on the driver side door.

"There's a button here," he said as he placed her finger on it. "Toggle it to switch between the left and right mirror, then use the arrows to angle them."

She looked at what he was showing her, but also looked at the top of his head, his soft unruly hair under her nose. He smelled like sandalwood, which was normal to her, but the subtle undertone of something reminiscent to hand sanitizer she found odd.

Regardless, she felt her heart rate pick up speed at his closeness. He was still lingering over her. She could feel his breath on the skin of her thighs.

He let go of her hand and straightened up once again in his seat.

She crinkled her eyebrows in concentration and adjusted the mirrors at his direction.

"You want to be able to see the cars on each side of you and behind you while you're driving," he offered.

He'd placed his right elbow on the armrest of the passenger side door, his cheek resting against his fist as he spoke.

"Right," she said.

He pointed his left hand at her legs and continued teaching her, "When you shift the car into different gears, you need to put your foot on the break before you do it."

Sakura angled both of her legs, putting one foot on each pedal. For the sake of this exercise, they had not turned the car on.

He shook his head in irritation, then reached over again and grabbed at her knees.

"No. You don't use both of your feet."

He shoved her left leg away, and gripped the inside of her right thigh, guiding her leg in place between the pedals.

"Just use this foot for both."

Sakura could feel herself getting warm and slightly agitated.

"Well excuse me. I've never done this before!" she exclaimed.

His hand tightened around her upper leg, before letting go. He smirked.

"That. Is obvious," he said cockily.

Her mouth dropped open as she turned to glare at him.

"Okay, what next asshole?" she asked.

He pointed down to the gearshift.

She put her hand on it timidly as he explained shifting the car from park to reverse to drive to neutral. He dropped his hand over hers, instructing her to hold in the button on the gear to move the stick, but she stopped paying attention.

She looked up at him and stared for a beat. And then she was unfastening her seat belt and jumping over the middle console and climbing into his lap. She registered the look of mild shock on his face, before she attacked his mouth with hers.

He remained frozen for all of two seconds before responding, his palms flying to her waist then moving down, sliding up her skirt along the bare skin at the back of her thighs.

Her hands were everywhere. Underneath his shirt at his chest, then over his shirt on his shoulders, then fisting into the hair at the back of his neck. She was literally eating his face off with her fervor.

He pulled away from her, out of breath.

"I don't fit in this car," he murmured.

She gave him a crazed look and then turned her head to look in the direction of the basement den. She looked back at him, eyebrow raised.

He pulled his hand out from underneath her skirt and fumbled with the door handle. They toppled out of the car. She grabbed at him, pulling him along behind her in haste.

* * *

The second they got near the suede grey couch of the basement lounge, Sasuke began ripping all of his clothes off, tossing them to the floor near his feet.

Sakura was laughing breathlessly as she tore her own shirt and bra off as well. Sasuke sat down in the middle of the couch, his back resting against the cushions.

She quickly dropped herself onto his seated lap, grinding herself against his erection. He lifted her skirt up from the bottom, gripping her ass. Then he yanked at the waist of the garment to test the stretch. Finding it sufficient, he lifted it upwards, over her head and away from her, before throwing it behind her and to the ground.

He made a look of discomfort as the fabric of her panties rubbed against his bare skin, then he gripped the sides of the underwear and tore it clean off of her.

She gasped in surprise, then leaned forward and assaulted his mouth with hers once more. Her hands were frantically pulling at his hair, running up and down his neck and face.

He gripped her hips while kissing her, then guided her body, pushing her down onto himself.

They separated their mouths from each other to gasp and groan in unison. She held eye contact with him as he held himself in place. Neither of them moved.

Then she was moving, riding him hard and fast. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, her eyes closed in ecstasy. He observed her intently before abruptly standing up, still inside of her.

His hands sought purchase beneath her thighs and then he was lifting her on and off of himself while standing. Her knees were bent, her legs hanging over his forearms as he moved her against himself.

"Don't drop me," she breathed out.

Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck as he lifted her up and down his length with ease.

"Does it feel like I'm going to drop you?" he asked.

"N-no."

He was holding her up with what seemed like little effort, like she was weightless.

"I thought… You were teaching me how to drive?" she panted, as he continued to guide her.

She moaned.

"I was. But then you started getting turned on for some reason," he muttered.

His hands tightened at her thighs as he barreled into her, upright.

"You kept— you kept touching me!" she accused.

"Mm. I'm always touching you though," he said huskily.

Her mouth dropped open as she held eye contact with him again. Then she bit her lip. Then she went into a silent scream and shut her eyes tight.

She tossed her head back as he picked up the pace, displaying the skin of her throat. He leaned his head forward, hair falling into his face and sucked on her tempting neck.

She was so wet, the sound of their coupling was lewd and loud as he moved in and out of her.

Distantly, they both heard Itachi call for his name.

He ignored it, adjusting his hands from the back of her thighs to higher up, gripping her ass as he lifted her on and off of himself more forcefully. He was breathing hard, kissing his way from the middle of her neck to just below her ear.

She groaned at the more intense feeling of him, her sharp, pointed nails digging into the skin at his shoulders.

The second call of "Sasuke" sounded much closer.

They froze. He pulled back to look at her. Her eyes had widened in panic. She jumped off of him, sliding off his dick and stumbling as her feet hit the ground from the height he'd been holding her up at.

She bolted towards the bathroom, the same one Ino had used a couple weeks ago. He watched her scramble inside and shut the door with an echoing click.

He quickly bent over, fumbling for his pants and boxers, yanking them on while tripping and hopping on one foot.

He grabbed his shirt off the couch, shoved it over his head and too late realized that it was inside out.

_Fuck._

He sat on the suede of the sofa and then turned his head when his brother entered the den.

"What?" he asked.

His brother opened his mouth to speak and then paused abruptly.

Sasuke saw it at the same time as Itachi. Sakura's skirt and torn up underwear in the middle of the room, in a pile on the floor.

**Shit.**

Sasuke rubbed a hand at his mouth, eyeing his brother from over his shoulder. His brother's gaze landed on the closed bathroom door, an eyebrow raised as he surely put together that he'd narrowly almost caught them fucking with wild abandon in the middle of the basement.

_Fucking Itachi._

Sasuke was a grown ass man, so why did it feel like he was getting in trouble with his brother left and right ever since he'd decided to unofficially move back into the house!?

Itachi gave him a long, calculating _look_ and then turned around and left without saying anything _._ What the fuck?

Sasuke sat frozen on the couch, agitated and annoyed. He could feel his hard-on rapidly diminishing away. He had been effectively cockblocked by his older brother.

After a couple minutes, he heard the creak of the bathroom door. Sakura peeked out of the crack of the door with one eye. He beckoned at her to come out with his hand.

Cautiously, she opened it farther and slinked over. She kept glancing towards the entrance to the den nervously as she approached him. Her long hair fell behind her back, the tresses taking on a windswept appearance from the vigorous activity they had been engaged in moments prior.

As she got closer, he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, pulling her to stand between his now clothed legs.

She looked down at him, still anxious about almost getting caught. She was stiff, but clearly still unsatisfied.

He let go of her arm and splayed a hand on her lower back to hold her in place. She breathed in sharply as he used his other hand to run two fingers up and down her wet slit, the friction driving her insane. She could feel a burning in her toes as he gently but quickly rubbed at her.

Her hands came to rest at his shoulders as he supported her standing form. Her legs felt like jelly. He looked into her face, her lip caught between her teeth as she looked back at him.

He switched the motion of his fingers to circles and her mouth dropped open. Sliding his other hand down from her lower back, over her ass and then to the back of her thigh, put her over the edge. She came soundlessly, squeezing her legs together.

Her body now relaxed, she leaned down to give him a quick kiss, but he held her still and made the kiss long and messy.

She was whining to get out of it and go wash up, her hands trying to pry his off of her body, but he didn't want to let her go.

He wanted every part of her, and sometimes nothing they did together felt like enough.

* * *

Sakura falls asleep spooned in front of him while watching a film. They are on the velvet sofa of the upper level's den. They'd gone upstairs to change into more comfortable clothes after their basement romp and then have dinner. Afterwards she had demanded a movie, and then she'd proceeded to promptly fall asleep to it.

He's awake. He doesn't think he will sleep much tonight. He notes his brother walking past the den and giving him a stern look, but Itachi doesn't say anything. Whatever he'd wanted to annoy him with earlier was clearly not important enough to bring up again. Itachi disappears around the corner and does not come back.

_Asshole._

Sakura turns around to face him, still asleep. She's resting her hands together at her cheek. His chest aches at the sight of her sleeping expression.

She is beautiful.

He lightly caresses her face with his slender fingers, tracing her features and tucking some of her long hair behind her ear.

Suddenly, a memory of being with Suigetsu earlier comes back to him. His same hand holding down the mandible of a beheaded corpse as Suigetsu wrenched out the teeth, Sasuke's head snapping away in revulsion as a spray of blood streamed across his face.

" _Whoops, my bad Boss-man! Just wipe it off, no big."_

Then Suigetsu had made some inappropriate joke about including safety goggles in the 'budget' and proceeded to use pliers to yank out the remaining teeth instead of a wrench.

Sasuke pulls his hand back from Sakura and looks at his palm with detached interest.

She wakes up blearily, smiles and asks him what's wrong.

He looks at her with wide, unblinking eyes.

"I think I'm dead inside," he says seriously.

She is suddenly alert, and stares at him.

"It's okay. I still love you," she says.

Her tone is definitive, like there is no doubt or question about it. Like it's a fact. Like she isn't mad at him for upsetting her about a million different things the past couple weeks.

He fists his tainted hand around hers, pulls it to his chest and holds it there. Then he kisses her hand, rubs his face against it. Squeezes it.

She watches his actions, her expression somber. The amber specks in the green of her eyes are dark. Blended in.

She leans in, her hand still in his and kisses him softly. His eyes close. It is comforting for him. He kisses back lazily. Then she pulls away, her face still close.

"Are you still taking your medication?" she asks.

His grip on her hand tightens and his eyes open. She's now looking at him expectantly.

"Yes," he snaps, offended.

"Are you dosing it properly?"

He pauses before responding. He looks off to the side at the large sheepskin rug resting over the grey wood below. They're lying too close together, so she notices his eyes shift. One of her bare legs moves closer to his and wedges itself between his.

He is warm and she is cold.

He looks back into her eyes before replying.

"I don't know. I rip off the labels whenever I pick up the refills."

At his response, she looks at him with disappointment. Her eyebrows furrow.

The memory of the most recent time he went off the rails hangs unspoken in the air between them. It was not pleasant. She'd been in the middle of preparing for some grueling midterms last year and he'd very suddenly gone batshit insane. Rock bottom low.

She'd had to call Naruto to help her handle him because it had been too much.

"What? I can't function when the dose is too high, I turn into a fucking vegetable," he complains.

Her fingers start fidgeting in his grasp, but he doesn't loosen his hold.

"When's the last time you saw your doctor?" she questions.

_Last year._

"A couple months ago."

"Why don't you call him tomorrow?" she suggests.

"Okay."

She gives him a curt nod back, aligned to this course of action.

Then she tucks her head beneath his chin, her breath slowly evening out again as she falls asleep once more. She's tangled both her legs with his now, her arms tucked between their chests, basking in the heat from his body.

He holds her tightly as he remains awake, his eyes directed at the movie credits. The screen slowly fades to black.

* * *

_TBC..._


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for language and adult themes. Thanks for your feedback last chapter!_

**Chapter Fifteen**

* * *

He had barely moved for the past eight hours, staring blankly at the pool table, then at the TV after it had turned off, then at the ceiling, then at Sakura's hair for a while.

From there, his focus had been drawn to her earlobes.

She had one earring in on the left lobe and a hoop in her cartilage that had stayed infected for twelve months after she'd gotten it in the middle of 10th grade.

All she'd bitched about to him and Naruto that year had been how she couldn't wear headphones, how she couldn't wear sunglasses, how her ear hurt all the time, how she couldn't sleep on her side, how... fuck this, fuck that. It had been so fucking annoying.

* * *

" _I can just tear it out for you... If that's what it'll take to make you shut the fuck up that is," Sasuke had remarked snidely._

_He'd abruptly gotten up from where he'd been half assing his homework in the library and swiftly approached her chair._

_She had been sitting diagonally across the table from him, next to Naruto._

_He'd come up behind her, his hands gripping the back of her seat._

_Naruto was studiously ignoring them. Sasuke had been acting crazier and crazier lately and he only tuned in selectively. Right now he really needed to finish this essay for their history class. Whatever bullshit they were going on about could wait. Sasuke and Sakura could fuck right off! He was not about to fail the assignment for this class, AGAIN._

_Sasuke looked down at the top of her head from where he was hovering behind her. He'd zoned out mid-action, distracted by her hair._

He distinctly remembered it looking fucked up that year.

_Earlier that month, her parents hadn't been home, so she'd snuck him in the house and made him aid her in coloring it for the first time._

_He wasn't allowed over when she was home alone, her mom didn't trust him much then. He wasn't sure why, he hadn't fucking done anything. Naruto was allowed, which was kind of fucking stupid and mildly offensive in his opinion._

_He had no idea what the fuck he was doing with the dye and she'd been distracting throughout the entire process. She kept bossing him around and bending over in spandex shorts to grab hair clips that she kept knocking to the floor by accident. They were in the cramped bathroom of her family's basement with the door closed._

" _Make Naruto help you," he'd complained._

" _What, so he can turn my hair orange? No thanks. Now hold this and stop fidgeting!"_

Sakura at 16 was still the same naggy, bossy, bitch as Sakura at 22.

But he loved her naggy, bossy, bitchiness a lot, so whatever.

_In the library, she'd ignored him while he was loitering behind her, spaced out on her hair. However, she addressed him once she'd felt his fingers tighten on the chair near her back. She tilted her head backwards, looking up at him from below._

_She was still seated next to Naruto and Naruto was still ignoring the both of them._

" _Wait. No. Why do you look so serious?! Don't touch my piercing," she warned._

_He'd reached a hand towards her ear, moving her phony looking hair away so he could grab at the earring._

She'd kept the locks short then. They were long now because he liked it better that way.

_She jumped out of her chair, backing away from him._

" _Get the hell away from me! Naruto, help me!"_

* * *

The piercing looked okay now though. She'd upgraded the hoop a couple times since then too.

He really was going to yank it out, he didn't care if the action would have hurt. She was being annoying and at that time his tolerance for being annoyed was essentially nonexistent. The threshold was a modicum higher now.

He stared at her ear for a moment longer, then he'd disentangled his limbs from her and left her passed out on the couch.

He grabbed his phone off the gold metal coffee table. It was close to 8:30 a.m. The den had a different feel than the main living room. It was slightly warmer because his mother had designed it that way. She'd continuously kept up with remodeling and redesigning the different rooms of the house, regardless of the fact that she did not really reside in it.

He slipped into one of the first floor bathrooms.

He washed his mouth out with mouthwash, avoiding looking at his reflection, then turned the faucet off and faced away from the mirror, leaning against the counter of the sink.

He stabbed at his phone, sifting through the contacts.

It rang three times before it was picked up.

"Yo, Sasuke! Haven't heard from you in a while."

Kakashi was such a fucking buffoon. MD-PhD his ass.

"Yeah."

"You haven't been answering my calls or emails," Kakashi said.

"Yeah."

"And you missed your last couple appointments," Kakashi added.

"Yeah."

"I had to call your brother to check if you were still alive."

_Traitor!_

Sasuke fumed internally for a moment, his bare foot beginning to tap against the granite floor.

_So that's why Itachi had shown up._

"How is everything?" Kakashi asked.

"Fine."

"How's Sakura?"

"Fine."

"How's Naruto?"

"Fine."

"How's that coding project?" Kakashi continued.

"Great."

"Great?" Kakashi asked back.

"Mostly. Hit a snag," Sasuke responded.

"And then what happened? Did you get stressed out?"

"Smoked two packs of cigs in 24 hours."

Kakashi 'tsks' over the line.

"Stay away from your triggers all right? You know how it goes," he advised.

Silence. Then, "Sakura wants me to make sure I'm taking the right dose," Sasuke states reluctantly.

"Why's that?"

This _sucked._

"I…" he swallows, "...Felt weird yesterday," he confesses, quietly.

"Makes sense. But where's the disconnect? It's on the prescription, no?"

Sasuke crossed an arm over his chest, sullen.

"I don't like to look at the labels."

He pinched his nose with his other hand, the phone gripped between his shoulder and his ear.

He was getting agitated from talking this much.

"Hm. Don't like or don't want?" Kakashi asked.

He let go of his nose and gripped the counter of the sink behind him.

"What's the difference?" Sasuke asked.

"You tell me," Kakashi responded.

This was why he didn't like talking to this guy. He just fucking spoke everything in riddles and then labeled it as treatment and charged like $500 an hour.

Sasuke shook his head, exasperated.

"I don't _fucking_ know," he responded.

_What were they even fucking talking about?!_

"What are you taking daily?" his doctor asked him.

Sasuke recited his regimen robotically as he stared at the wall in front of him.

"You're good, that's what's prescribed."

Thank Christ, because he was _**not**_ trying to take anymore.

"BUT..." Kakashi wasn't done, "If you're still feeling off in a week or two we need to increase it, so call back or I can just reach out to Itachi."

Sasuke furrowed his brow. He wasn't a fucking minor anymore, why was Itachi even involved in this? What ever happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?

"Fine."

* * *

He's shaving at the mirror on his side of the double vanity in just loose, dark pants. They're sitting low on his hips, the white waistband of his boxer briefs exposed.

Sakura is sitting on the counter by the second sink, which was essentially her sink in his bedroom bathroom. She had a handful of toiletries strewn about there that she left for herself to use. Sasuke's stuff was too harsh on her skin. She's in her underwear and a loose tie-dye crop top, bare legs crossed.

She is removing the gold nail polish from her nails with a cotton ball, occasionally looking up at his actions as he wets then lathers his face and unwraps a fresh blade for his razor.

He'd left the house and randomly gotten a haircut earlier, though it hadn't done much to really tame anything from her perspective. His hair was still long and choppy in the back and the front. Maybe it was slightly shorter over part of his forehead, but she could barely tell the difference. There are dark circles under his eyes. He had not really slept last night she's certain.

She'd woken up with a crick in her neck, alone and in the den.

She'd stumbled upon Itachi as she traversed the hallway. She'd felt unbearably awkward due to almost being caught having sex with his brother yesterday, but Itachi seemed unfazed.

She was also unbelievably casual compared to him. She was in soft shorts, a graphic tee and scrunched up leg warmers. The leg warmers were so scrunched, they had essentially turned into ankle socks without doing much to keep her feet warm. Her toes were exposed and they were cold. Their house was drafty, her appendages always feeling a lack of circulation when she was there.

Short of wearing a suit jacket, Itachi was in all crisp dress clothes, per usual however.

Mentally, she tried to justify her sloppiness with the excuse that she'd just finished her undergraduate degree and had nothing that important to care about right now. That included her post sleep appearance and attire, thank you very much.

"Did Sasuke just leave you on the couch?" Itachi asked.

He seemed mildly affronted at this, but she shrugged, covering her mouth while yawning. She needed to brush her teeth.

"Where did he go?" she asked. "He started acting funny towards the end of the night," she informed him.

She gave him a pointed look. Like no he wasn't _just_ being weird, he was being ' _we should be concerned about him_ ' weird.

Itachi sighed, suddenly looking more tired than usual. He was a rather perceptive person, after all.

"Mentioned needing a haircut."

* * *

Sakura's gaze focuses back on Sasuke. He was putting the blade into the razor now. Something about the action made her uneasy.

"What did Kakashi say?" she finally asks.

"I'm taking the proper dose and to let him know if I still feel weird in a week or two," he repeated.

"Okay. Let me know too?"

He nods at her without looking in her direction, then swipes the razor from top to bottom on one section of his foamy face.

She notices him eyeing the blade on his razor a little too intently after rinsing it between strokes.

He's only looking at himself in the mirror for a second before each swipe, his eyes falling to the granite of the double sink as he moves the razor down his face.

Once he's done and rinsed and dried, he approaches her. She spreads her legs so he can stand between them as she sits on the counter.

She puts her hands on his cheeks lightly and moves his face from side to side, inspecting.

"Looks good," she approves. Her hands remain hovering at his cheekbones.

Her fingers smell like acetone. His eyes drop to her lips, his hands are on each side of her body, palms resting flat on the counter now.

One of her legs has wrapped around his waist, the other hanging to the side and he kisses her once, then twice. Simple kisses, no tongue like he usually prefers.

He's not in the mood for anything else. He keeps his nose near hers for a moment, his eyes are open. Then he pulls away.

She gives him a calculating look as he turns his back on her.

The rare bouts of time he became disinterested in sex were when she realized she had to keep an eye on him the most.

He was the most unpredictable when he was depressed.

Manic he was just an over energized, hyperactive version of his normal self.

But down, he was something else.

Later in the day, the extra blades at the sink and his razor are gone. She had moved them.

He'd taken her home after that. He didn't want to be scrutinized by her right now.

He had barely said a word for the rest of the day other than, "I'm taking you home."

"If that's what you want," she'd responded.

This time around she knew he clearly wanted to be alone. She had less to be concerned about with his brother being present than in times past, which was a relief to her.

* * *

Sasuke hasn't called or texted her in a couple days, though she'd checked with Itachi and he'd thankfully confirmed that his brother was fine and at home.

From the sound of it however, he'd just been staying in his room and not coming out.

The behavior wasn't abnormal, but she was used to being the one who stuck around to watch him the past couple of years. Sometimes alone, sometimes with Naruto. It didn't happen often anymore, so it was manageable.

Itachi had done it in high school and throughout the period of time where she wasn't talking to Sasuke. She made a face. She knew Sasuke had done a lot of questionable things during that time frame too, which would have undoubtedly made Itachi's job much harder. She felt bad for his older brother.

She wanted to see Sasuke though. Should she ask Itachi to pick her up?

She'd barely learned anything about driving her car, so driving herself over was in no way an option. Something about Sasuke gifting her a car and then instructing her how to drive it...

She covered her face in brief embarrassment at the memory. She wasn't usually so forward with him. He was forward enough for the both of them.

She shifted her hand to twirl a strand of hair around her finger as she stood in her kitchen, weighing her options.

As she continued to contemplate, one hand gripping her phone and the other still in her hair, Shikamaru came in from the front door with a take-out bag in hand and a bored look.

He gives her a nod and drops to the couch, grabbing the remote control for the television off the wood coffee table.

He was no longer lugging a backpack around as classes had finished, but he'd still had that 'I look exhausted' aura about him due to the chronically lazy look in his eyes.

"Where's Ino?" he asks as he sits back, kicking off his shoes under the coffee table.

Sakura shrugs, "I think she went shopping for business casual work clothes for the new job."

"You didn't go with?" he asks, turning on the TV.

She puts her phone down on the granite, gripping the edge of the black countertop with both hands now.

"Sasuke's having an episode again, though it's pretty minor compared to last time," she grumbles.

Shikamaru looks unimpressed. He pulls his sandwich out of the paper bag and begins unfolding it with a look of blatant disapproval.

This made Sakura a little annoyed. It's not like Sasuke was doing this on purpose.

Short of rolling his eyes, Shikamaru crinkles the wrapping extra loud and turns up the volume of the TV before taking a bite of his sandwich.

Sakura wasn't sure if she imagined him muttering, "Fucking crazy ass Uchiha," under his breath or not, but she gives him a suspicious glare regardless.

"You guys don't have to be so mean to him," she defends.

Shikamaru takes another massive bite of his sandwich and nods his head up and down.

She clearly still didn't know her boyfriend was more than just clinically insane. That motherfucker was _**insane** ,_ insane.

He did not provide any commentary or insights. Whatever drama that would eventually unfurl into fell quite prominently in the overly troublesome spectrum of his 'I'm not getting involved meter.'

He bit into the pickle spear that came with his sandwich and stared at the television.

* * *

Sakura decides to bite the bullet and ask Itachi to pick her up.

He is prompt, if not a little earlier than he said he would be, and he's very polite about it. It's similar to the last time he gave her a ride.

Sakura doesn't feel any need to fill the silence as he drives her back to their estate.

She looks out the window as he drives, trusting him.

He parks out front, then unlocks the door and gestures at her to go in first.

His manners and people skills were infinitely superior to Sasuke's, she notes. It's ridiculous to her that they're related, though there is no argument that they look very much alike.

She goes to the kitchen and Itachi comes in after having disappeared for a while. He's loitering near the sink. His arms are crossed.

"Has he been eating anything?" she asks.

Itachi's mouth is set into a somber line. He shakes his head, no.

Sakura places her bag on the island, then disappears into the pantry. She comes out with a box of dry cereal. She stops at one of the cabinets and pulls out a disposable plastic cup from a sleeve of them.

She stands at the island and pours the cereal into it.

Itachi is observing her actions with a frown.

"He'll probably eat this in the middle of the night if it's next to him, in reach," she provides.

She'd already grabbed some bottled water from the fridge and had that down on the counter in front of her too.

She nods to herself, satisfied.

Itachi looks emotional now and then turns his back on her, busying himself with unloading the dishwasher.

She doesn't say anything more, but she understands.

* * *

Sasuke is in bed. The room is getting dark from twilight. He is lying on his side without a shirt on, hugging a pillow.

"Hello. It's me!" she announces as she enters.

He glances at her briefly then looks away. He doesn't respond.

She puts the cup of cereal and bottle of water next to him on his nightstand, then grabs the handful of empty bottles already there and throws them in the trash.

She drops her bag on the wardrobe then goes into the bathroom to wash her hands.

She leaves the light on in there but doesn't blind him by turning on any more lights.

She stands in the doorway of the bathroom, her voice is coming from the direction of his feet but he doesn't bother looking at her while she's talking.

"Want to see Naruto?" she asks.

"No."

"Want to go on a drive?"

"No."

"Want to go on a walk?"

"No."

"Want to have sex?"

"...No."

"Want me to leave?"

"No."

"Okay," she says.

She ends that and goes to the other side of his room to his large walk-in closet. She flips on the light in there too.

He hears the sound of her digging around behind him and slowly turns his body to look.

He can see her bent over through the wide doorway. She is barefoot in a black t-shirt dress and he can see the pink of her underwear as she bends. He doesn't feel aroused by this, which he knows is not normal for him, but he can't help it right now.

She straightens up. He notices the loose & airy fabric of a white beanie on her head. She seems flustered. She can't find something.

She feels his eyes on her and turns to look at him.

He is expressionless, his jaw slack. But she knows he's curious about what she's doing, yet doesn't have the energy or desire to ask.

"I'm looking for socks," she tells him, "My feet are cold."

It doesn't seem like he's listening, but he lifts a finger and points at a specific spot in his closet.

She turns back around, opens the drawer and finds a couple pairs of her fuzzy socks inside.

* * *

"I want to smoke a joint," he says, the next day.

Most of the dry cereal is missing from the cup.

She'd slept as far away from him as possible, her back to him the entire night. She's still in her soft t-shirt dress, her beanie resting on the nightstand on her side of the bed.

"Are you sure?" she questions.

He's sitting propped up against his pillows and headboard, still no shirt on. She notes that he has changed his shorts today though.

"Yes," he replies.

He sits on his hands for a moment, then pulls them out from under himself and flexes his fingers. His arms drop to his sides.

"Roll it for me," he demands.

She sighs. _Needy_.

She gets up and walks around to his nightstand. She opens the drawer, noticing a couple random keys, her hair ties, some matches and _extremely_ expired condoms. Gross.

She makes a mental note to throw those away and then pulls out his papers and marijuana.

She sits on the ground adjacent to the bed and nightstand.

Her lithe fingers break down the flower onto a piece of receipt paper she's grabbed from the bottom shelf of the stand. Her long nails make the action easy for her.

He watches with bored disinterest from the spot in his bed where he's been immobile the past four days.

Of course he'd ensured that _his_ girlfriend knew how to roll a proper joint. It would be blasphemy if she didn't.

His eyes follow her tongue as it seals the paper. The finished product is nice and neat.

"Light it for me," he requests.

She gives him a glare. She didn't feel like smoking right now, if ever. She rarely was in the mood to get high, though she didn't mind when he did it.

"I need a lighter," she grumbles.

He pulls one out of the pocket of his shorts and throws it at her.

She's sitting on her ass, her legs extended in a v-shape. Her back is kind of slouched. Her underwear is showing again since her legs are spread open and her shirt is riding up.

She lights it, cupping her hand around the end.

He feels his cock getting hard at the sight.

As she passes the jay up to him from her spot on the floor, she notices too. Her lip turns up and her eyebrow raises.

* * *

The next day she wakes up to his arm tossed over her chest. He's face down next to her, invading her pillow space. The lengthy, spiky strands of his hair tickle her face.

* * *

On day seven he's feeling mostly back to normal. He knows he left work unattended for too long but he hadn't found it in him to really give a fuck about it or much of anything until today.

Sakura had forced him into the shower.

"I REALLY think you should take one," she'd commented.

His hair was wet and dripping onto his shoulders, he hadn't really dried it or himself very well. It had seemed a little tedious.

He's standing at his wardrobe after just putting on clean underwear and black pants, when he notices his main phone lighting up.

Karin has sent him a text.

> _**"911."** _

Fucking. _**Come on.**_

He grabs a key from his nightstand and slips out of the room to his office. Sakura is cleaning up after him in the bathroom.

"You're disgusting, why is everything wet in here!?"

She'd been tidying up other random stuff in the main part of the room, but then she'd put one of her socked feet in a water puddle and had proceeded to spaz out.

He unlocks the office door, leaving it open and then responds to Karin with _**"411"**_ from a burner.

Karin calls him. He pops his head out the door of the office to make sure no one is in the hallway.

Sakura is still distracted in his room, likely having gone back to changing the bed sheets and the pillowcases and the blankets and opening the windows and the curtains and being annoying.

"Karin," he says.

"I asked Naruto where you were," she starts.

Sasuke scowls, his eyes roving around his office, checking that everything is in order. It doesn't look like anyone has been in here.

"He said you were... indisposed," she leaves it at that.

Of course fucking Naruto knew and of course he would openly tell his stupid ass hotheaded cousin.

Knowing Sakura, she'd blabbed at Nara and Yamanaka too. And then Itachi had probably told Kakashi and now he had a quorum of fucktards all up in his business.

"The whole site has gone offline," Karin was straight to the point.

He froze. _Shit_.

Oh, shit.

He needs to make up an excuse to leave. Or get Naruto over to distract Sakura. He walks a circle on the rug of the office floor, thinking quickly. She is not going to leave right now after watching him like a hawk for the past week.

He goes to his desk and sits down, logging in remotely. This is not something he likes to do anymore, as even with safeguards, it's too risky. But he can't leave right now either, there's no other option.

He connects his laptop to the two monitors on his desk, the phone held at his shoulder. He pulls a USB out of a desk drawer, leaving the drawer open and plugs the drive into a port.

"I can't leave right now. I'll log in remotely. Get on the chat server," he says.

_Stupid, you're being stupid Sasuke._ Karin is thinking it, but she doesn't say it.

"Whatever you say," she says instead.

She hangs up. He drops the phone into the open drawer and shuts it, then ensures his mechanical keyboard and mouse are hooked up as well.

He turns in his chair to briefly look out the window behind the desk. It is kind of cloudy today.

He leaves the office door open. It's risky, but if he shuts it, Sakura and Itachi are going to break it down thinking he's doing something sketchy to himself inside.

Not that anything that extreme had ever happened before, but the dynamic of Sakura and his brother tag teaming him this past week had been unpredictable and unexpected as fuck.

His brother had been suspiciously scarce the past couple days and he was certain Sakura was feeding him thorough status updates, if the caginess with her phone had been any indication.

He hadn't had the energy to flip a shit over it.

Fucking. _Whatever._

Sakura comes by as he's typing and focused. He's concentrating on what he's doing, but he looks up at her briefly over his monitors.

She has changed into frayed grey jean shorts and a fucking tube top. Distracting.

He can tell she's trying to evaluate his state however.

"I'm fine. I'm working on something," he says to her as he types. His eyes are back on his screens, moving quickly across the code strings.

She leans against the door, curious. The way she's leaning is pushing up her cleavage and he inadvertently frowns. Why is she wearing this fucking outfit around his brother?

"What are you working on?" she questions.

He looks at her again, then looks back at what he's doing. Karin has just sent him an update in the chat server and he doles out a quick reply before responding to Sakura.

"I'm... doing Dev work," he says.

She crosses her arms, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. He notes that she's not wearing socks anymore. Wet socks freaked her out.

"With Karin?" she asks.

He scowls at something on his screen. Nothing on the backend looked right. What the fuck was going on? He switches to the frontend of the site to take a look.

"Yes," he starts. Then he continues with, "and that guy you saw at the party."

Not entirely true, Suigetsu couldn't code for shit, but he was still behind a computer helping them out, so.

She freezes. He's giving her some information that she is not familiar with. Her arms are behind her back now, her hands clasped. She looks like she's rotating side to side.

She's stepped in more from the doorway, but is still lingering closer to the doorframe than to his desk.

Is she purposely trying to show off her tits with all of these motions? He finds himself getting annoyed at her. She better not be doing shit like this when she's out by herself or with other people.

He wipes at his bare chest and shoulder, water is still dripping off of his hair, then he continues to pound at the keys. Offhandedly he mentions to her that Karin and "that dude" are "fucking clowns" and totally need to bang it out.

This helps appease her a lot. He notices something lift in her demeanor after that.

He's not sure why. He didn't have eyes for Karin or anyone else and to him it was painfully obvious, but it took four different styles of reassurances to finally hammer that into her skull properly.

Noted for next time. Volunteer some half truths for the win.

Fucking. Sakura.

He didn't blame her necessarily. He wouldn't trust a guy with his track record fully either. The fact that she'd been with him for so long and given her heart to him and maybe her soul and spread her toned legs for him and gave him exclusive access to her pussy and whatever else she had to spare was a miracle in itself.

Yamanaka didn't hate him without cause.

He knew he was an asshole.

Sakura deserved a better version of him, but it was what it was.

* * *

With him helping Karin, they'd brought the site back in three hours. The issue was not as major as it had seemed, but it was fishy enough for him to put in an uncontestable order with the rest of the group.

"Scale back operations. No new users. No new sellers," he'd demanded.

He'd called Karin back and made her put the call on speaker at the warehouse.

"Suigetsu, cut intake in half."

He knew Suigetsu wouldn't like that.

"What the fuck, Boss? The money just tripled this week while you were out!"

"I don't give a fuck, just do it."

* * *

_TBC..._


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Marionette**   
>  _Disclaimer: M for intercourse, language, adult themes and references to violence. If you are uncomfortable with this, please do not proceed._

**Chapter Sixteen**

* * *

Sasuke was making love to her.

He was on top of her, moving slowly.

Kissing her slowly.

He was holding some of his weight up on his elbows, pinning one of her hands down and lacing their fingers. His other hand was at the top of her head in her hair, moving the hair back from her forehead.

One of his legs was angled so he could move into her deeper.

She pants as he moves above her, her lips slightly parted.

He was being a little too intense for her after being distant and she felt herself getting worked up over it as he crowded her. He was everywhere all at once and it was making her feel weird.

"Why are you crying?" he asks suddenly, his expression mildly confused.

He didn't stop his actions though, she felt too good around him to stop.

Her toes slide along the outside of his legs then she wraps them around and puts her feet flat behind his calves.

He shut his eyes momentarily at the feel of her, then opened them again to look at her. He was expecting an answer.

She gives him a glare from below him as he moves in and out of her. She ignores him, not responding. He moves his hand from the top of her hair to wipe his thumb down her wet face, his hand cupping her cheek. His hooded eyes look into hers.

She focuses on the lighter grey of his left eye, where she can discern the pupil. The other eye was too dark, a black hole.

His eyes were still strange to her.

He leans in and kisses her deeply, his tongue searching her mouth, his thumb wiping the last of the wetness off her face as he does. Her eyes flutter shut as she kisses back.

"Stop analyzing my eye color," he murmurs against her lips.

She couldn't. His eyes used to match. The heterochromia was acquired in high school, when she wasn't talking to him. He hadn't been born with it. She didn't notice it as much from far away, but up close it was startling.

The friction of his torso against her chest feels good and she moans quietly. Like he senses this, he moves the hand from her face to between them, gripping each of her breasts and pinching at her. Her back arches a little at the action then drops back down as he slides his hand back near the top of her head, fisting strands of her hair on the pillow.

She has her unoccupied hand on the side of his face and neck, her other still held down and gripped tightly by him. She squeezes at his fingers, laced through hers.

When he comes with a groan, he lets go of her and pulls out. Grabbing himself with one hand, he holds himself above her with the other and comes on her stomach. She cradles his face with her palms as he does it, his gaze fixed downwards on his actions, his eyebrows drawn together. His hair is in his eyes, choppy and wayward.

He drops his forehead to hers, lingers in her space a little more, then falls to the side of her body and gives her a kiss at her cheek.

She scrunches her nose and looks down at the come all over her front.

"Why were you crying?" he asks again.

She pouts and turns her head away from him.

She stretches her legs, pointing her toes.

She didn't finish, but she doesn't care right now.

"Leave me alone," she says.

He's breathing in her ear and it is annoying her.

"Tell me."

Her expression gets irritated and she turns her head towards him again.

"You were overwhelming me!" she complains.

Her cheeks are rosy, she's embarrassed.

He nuzzles his nose into hers, then pulls back and smirks, "Sorry."

Then he rests his chin on her closest shoulder, his arm thrown across her chest holding her boobs down. He's a little sweaty and she is too.

She looks sullen and still pouty.

"Give me a hand towel," he requests. "There's one in the back of the drawer."

She reaches into the nightstand on his side of the bed without turning her body too much. She's closest to that edge. She grabs the small folded up terry cloth square and hands it to him.

He wipes his come off of her stomach, her eyes are closed as he does it.

* * *

The next two days were uneventful.

She'd stopped by her house the day before to get some more clothes and grab a couple of things, but she'd come back to sleep over.

It happened while they were out getting coffee.

Sakura had nagged all morning about wanting an iced latte.

His head had popped out from the bathroom, a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

"Just go make some downstairs. There's like a fucking espresso machine down there!" he'd shouted.

He pulled the brush off his teeth and waved it around loosely, towards his bedroom door and the direction of the kitchen.

He'd already gotten dressed, a black crew-neck tee with an unbuttoned, short-sleeved flannel over it. He liked flannels because there were squares on them.

_4 edges. 90 degrees an angle. 360 degrees a square,_ he recited to himself.

He had on his favorite black jeans, the ones with the tear at the knee.

Sakura had made him put on a belt too.

" _Those pants are always falling off of you!"_

She was in his closet, assessing what outfits she had accumulated at his house to wear. She popped out to yell back at him.

"NO. It's not the same! I want a real latte!"

And then she'd proceeded to subconsciously dress herself in a matching outfit, down to the sneakers. Both of their pairs were blindingly white.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he'd exclaimed as she'd emerged from his closet.

He had been standing around aimlessly after brushing his teeth, bitching at her to hurry the fuck up. At the sight of her, he'd gotten overly animated.

She put her hands on her hips at his outburst and raised an eyebrow.

He gestured between the two of them and said, "We look fucking stupid!"

* * *

They were walking back to his car, coffees in hand, arguing about pets. He was being more talkative than usual, which happened sometimes after he'd spent days being quiet.

"Kakashi told you to get a dog last year. He said it would be good for you," she says.

She switches her drink to her other hand and wipes the condensation that's all over her unoccupied palm onto her shorts.

"I don't want a fucking dog."

He thought disgustedly of smelly ass Inuzuka and felt himself get nauseated.

"Cats are cool though," he continued.

"Cats? You want a cat?" she asks.

He looks down at her head as they're walking side by side. He needed to consciously slow his pace down to match hers. Her legs were short and her stride was not as long as his.

"My mom used to have a cat," he shared.

She looks at him briefly, then looks back to the sidewalk.

"Really? When?" she questions.

His face is blank as he speaks.

"I don't know. Grade school. It died. My dad ran it over and just left it in the driveway."

He pauses to have some of his drink, then proceeds.

"I found its body when I got home from school and stood over it for a couple hours," he says with no emotion.

Sakura is looking at him like he's crazy. But he is, so he's not offended. They both take a sip of their coffees.

"Itachi got home and asked me what I was looking at," he continues. "I was like, 'the cat.'"

Sakura made a disgusted face, then rolled her eyes. He was so morbid.

Ahead of them a car screeches to a stop and parks sloppily on the side of the road. An olive skinned man with white hair is getting out and walking quickly towards them. They hadn't paid him much attention, until he'd stopped abruptly in their way, not allowing them to pass.

Sakura looks to Sasuke, perplexed.

"Are you Uchiha Sasuke?"

Neither of them answer.

Sasuke looks agitated. This suspiciously felt like it was about to turn into….

"Well I don't give a fuck if you answer either way, **you're under arrest."**

Fuck. FUCK.

Sasuke now seems extremely calm, his expression and tone just as neutral as when he'd been telling her about his flattened cat.

"For what?" he asks.

"You should know what you motherfucker."

Sasuke hands Sakura his drink so the guy can cuff him, hands it off nonchalantly, like he's having her hold it so he can tie his shoe. Not so this plain clothes police officer can handcuff him and take him to jail.

Mindlessly, she reaches out and takes it from him.

_Why is he being so casual?!_

"Your laundry list is long as shit you sick asshole," the cop continues.

By now a second plain clothes cop has vacated the vehicle, a woman with olive skin and red hair. She looks pleased. Like something truly great is happening in front of her eyes.

"Insert Miranda rights here fucker," the first cop spits on the ground.

The woman talks into her walkie, "This is Detective Karui. Suspect has been apprehended by Detective Omoi."

Sasuke is staring at Sakura, assessing her reaction.

The pig is being overly aggressive with his wrists behind his back, making a show of manhandling him and clicking the cuffs into place extra tight.

Sakura is in shock, he discerns.

Her fingers are holding the two drinks in a crushing grip as she stares at him, her green eyes blank. Her nails are painted a deep red this time, shaped like a coffin. He looks her up and down, at her legs and her hips and her waist and her chest and her face. Just in case it's the last time.

She's got one of his long-sleeved flannels tied around her waist, her legs exposed in jean shorts and a tight black top. He'd complained about the stupidity of her matching his outfit earlier, but he wasn't bothered by it right now.

He looks at her hair too. It's in fucking low pigtails that are falling over the front of her shoulders.

Fucking. Her stupid hair.

He had thought she looked cute today.

"Call my brother," he says to her, as the asshole shoves him past her, hauling him towards the unmarked police car.

Sakura turns her head, staring at his back as they take him away.

* * *

She stands there shocked for four minutes, not processing. The car has long since sped away. Then she puts one of the drinks down on the sidewalk, pulls out her phone and calls Itachi.

She feels like everything she is experiencing right now is occurring from outside of her body. Like she's not there, but she's there at the same time.

"Sakura?"

"Sasuke was just arrested."

She hears his sharp breath over the line.

"I will call you back in five minutes. Stay where you are."

She didn't think she'd really be able to move anyway. Aside from putting the drink down, she had barely blinked since her boyfriend was led away in handcuffs. In broad daylight. At a busy intersection.

Itachi calls back in three.

"Where are you?"

* * *

He picks her up. She is standing rigid on the street corner clutching two drinks from the nearby coffee shop.

She is in shock, he notes.

He reaches over to open the door from the inside, pushing it ajar for her to get in.

She gets in his car, eyes wide. She sits stiffly, the drinks still held in front of her.

He pries the cups from her fingers and puts them in the cupholder between them. Her hands now free, she shuts the passenger door behind her in a daze.

"Did he have a car with him?" he asks.

She turns to Itachi and nods, then points to it parked on the street.

He looks at it, quickly leans his head down so he can see the intersection signs of where it is parked through his windshield, then straightens up and starts driving.

"We are going to the house. My attorney will arrive at the station at the same time as Sasuke."

Itachi looks down at the drinks in his cup holder. Sasuke only drank his coffee black. He grabs his iced black coffee, disregarding Sakura's latte and downs it as he drives.

Sakura's hands are clutching her knees, she has not spoken.

The blood red of her nails contrasts harshly against her skin.

* * *

Itachi's attorney was a tall, thin, dark haired woman named Konan.

Sasuke was fairly certain his brother had slept with her at some point, but he couldn't be sure. He'd definitely seen her come through the house a handful of times when he was a teenager. His brother was too fucking straight edge for casual sex, but then again who fucking cared about Itachi's sex life?

_Ugh._

Sasuke was scrutinizing her heavy eye shadow and the piercing below her lip as she sat across from him at the table in the interrogation room. His hands were cuffed at the front now and he was drumming against the metal surface of the table with his fingers as she sifted through the documents in front of her.

"Stop that little Uchiha, or I will cut you," she remarked.

He stopped for a moment, then continued again, smirking.

She looked up once more and then sliced his hand with one of the sharp pieces of paper in her stack.

He pulled his hand back in pain, the metal of the cuffs clanging with the movement.

"What the fuck, bitch?"

She smiled, her dark, blue-black cropped hair the same color as her fitted suit and pencil skirt.

The back of his hand stung with the paper cut. He looked at the red line in anger and discomfort.

She looked up pointedly at the corner of the room, near the camera, so he could see her focus.

Then she looked back at him and slid the document stack towards him.

He looked down at it.

His face set into a grimace. There were a whole lot of bullshit allegations with his name stamped all over them:

**_Human trafficking, Prostitution, Rackateering, Conspiracy to launder money, Conspiracy to commit computer hacking, Conspiracy to traffic narcotics by the means of the internet, Continuing a criminal enterprise..._ **

It went on and on. The list really was long as shit.

Near the bottom of the second sheet, slightly staggered to peek out from the first, there were a couple different sentences written in minuscule, neat handwriting.

_Tap your finger twice if there is incriminating evidence at the house._

He looked up at her. She was seemingly not paying attention, her face immersed in her docket.

_Tap your finger thrice if there is incriminating evidence at your warehouse._

Oh, what the **fuck**.

He clenched his jaw.

Fucking. _Itachi._

* * *

Sakura was barely holding herself upright in the kitchen. She looked like she'd seen a ghost, her face white as a sheet.

Itachi had put some tea in front of her, but she'd barely noticed. He was standing across from her on the other side of the island.

His phone was sitting on the counter in front of him and he was looking at it expectantly. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his dress pants, his eyebrows drawn together. He receives a text.

> " _ **Two and three taps."**_

He looks up at Sakura.

"Snap out of it," he commanded.

She shook her head. Her hands were nervously pulling at the sleeves of Sasuke's flannel tied around her waist.

"Huh?"

Her eyes came into focus and she looked at him. The collar of his dress shirt was immaculately pressed and her gaze shifted towards it.

"Where does Sasuke spend most of his time in the house?"

Her eyes land on his face and she responds immediately.

"His room."

"Where else?" he asks impatiently.

She frowns.

"The—the office... by his room. Why?"

Itachi slides his car key across the island to her.

"Go out front and get the black kit out of the glove compartment of my car."

She was frozen.

"There is not much time. _Move._ They are drafting a warrant to come here. If they find anything in support of what they're accusing him of they will put him away," he says forcefully.

Her eyes widen, her hands now clutching the edge of the counter.

"What—what are they accusing him of?" she asks unsteadily.

For a moment Itachi looks enraged, but it's so brief that it passes across his face one second and disappears the next.

"He... is a fucking idiot," he bites out.

Sakura grabbed the key apprehensively. Itachi didn't swear often, in her experience.

"The office door is locked. He keeps the key in his nightstand," she provides, as she walks past him on shaky legs.

Itachi shakes his head, annoyed and heads for the stairs.

* * *

They both meet back down in the kitchen at the marble island.

Itachi is wearing black rubber gloves now and has two of Sasuke's laptops, a stack of packaged pre-paid phones, miscellaneous phone parts, a SIM card reader and a handful of USBs.

Sakura has the kit. She is across the counter from him again. She eyes the stack of objects he's collected with suspicion.

"Open it," he nods at the kit. "Pull out the microfiber towel," he instructs.

She unzips it with jittery fingers and pulls out what he's requested. She notes a number of tools and contraptions within, though she can't really say what any of them are for.

"Lie it flat on the counter."

She does as he requests, then watches in fascination as he sets everything down on the towel and begins to quickly and efficiently disassemble the hard drives from the laptops using tools from his kit.

The silence is deafening.

He keeps looking at his watch as he works, the face of it is turned inwards rather than resting on the outside of his wrist. She didn't think she'd really seen Itachi ever wear a watch before, but maybe she just hadn't been observant enough.

Eventually she says, "There's a third laptop. He has a third one, somewhere in the house."

Itachi's head snaps up.

"What?" he says sharply.

His mannerisms were very Sasuke in that moment, and had been for the past hour. Or was it that Sasuke was very Itachi?

She was starting to feel confused about which one took after the other.

She shrugs, "It's smaller, like a netbook maybe?"

"Where does he keep it?"

He's mad.

It's not like she withheld that on purpose, she can barely keep track of what the hell is going on!

"I don't know!" she responds.

_Stop yelling at me!_ she freaks, internally.

"Think _harder."_

Sakura squints. Her eyes are randomly drawn to a salt shaker that has been knocked over on a counter at the other end of the kitchen.

She has a vivid memory of Sasuke tinkering with something in the trunk of one of his cars a lot. He'd stop at it frequently on their way in and out of the house, though he hadn't done so for some time.

He never took this car out. It stayed parked in the garage, collecting dust.

" _Something's wrong with the transmission,"_ she recalls him saying.

"It might be in one of his cars?" she floats.

"Show me," Itachi demands.

They go down to the garage, Sakura leading the way.

Itachi makes her point out the car. Compared to the other vehicles, this one is parked closest to the stairs. He eyes it, then swiftly retrieves its key from the key closet.

His gloves are still on.

Sakura is standing near the trunk as he pops it open, approaching.

She spots the netbook tucked into the side compartment of the boot and tentatively reaches her hand towards it, but Itachi shoves an arm out to stop her.

"Don't touch it," he says sternly.

He picks it up, closes the trunk and they head back upstairs.

* * *

"This is Lieutenant Yahiko," Konan introduces the tall, orange haired douchebag that has just opened the door to the interrogation room.

He's in a white dress shirt and business casual slacks. He's clearly higher up than the asshole who conducted his arrest.

"Camera is off for five minutes," he says to Konan, after he's entered and shut the door.

He stands next to Konan as she remains seated across from Sasuke. Yahiko nods at her.

Then he turns to Sasuke and says, "You're a fucking idiot little Uchiha."

"Stop calling me that!" he seethes.

Konan and Yahiko share a look.

"When we took down your transaction server you should have let it stay down."

Sasuke's gaze had briefly shifted to his lap, he was counting the shapes on his flannel t-shirt in an attempt to calm himself, but his head snapped up at the revelation.

"What?" _Fuck, that was the cops?_

"This department opened a case last year," Yahiko provides.

He continues, "The recovery of the server is what turned you into prime suspect number one."

His voice is deep. Fucking. _Total douche._

Sasuke swallows audibly.

"The recovery of the site after it went offline, logged remotely from an unencrypted network near your fucking house, is what put in the motion for arrest."

Sasuke is staring at the people across from him, unblinking.

"Three minutes," Konan supplies, looking at her Rolex.

She's wearing it facing inwards, Sasuke notes. He spends two seconds finding this shady, before his attention is drawn back to Yahiko.

Suigetsu wore his watch the same way.

" _You have to when you're doing executions! Otherwise light reflecting on the watch glass could give you away before you make your hit!"_

"Don't say anything. No matter what they threaten," Yahiko continues.

He leans forward, his hands now resting on the metal table. Sasuke notes several black dermal piercings that appear to be running up his forearm. They're protruding from underneath the cuff of his shirt and he does not think they match with the clean-cut, professional asshole vibe he's attempting to project with the rest of his attire.

"They don't have anything concrete. It's all circumstantial," Yahiko continues.

Konan is still looking at her upturned wrist. She taps the metal table two times with two fingers, choosing not to interrupt verbally with her count. Her nails are painted a dark navy, so dark they're almost black.

"If there's no evidence they'll be forced to let you go in 72 hours," he finishes.

"One minute," Konan announces.

Yahiko looks to Konan, "They moved quickly today, I did not have much warning. The warrants are drafted and signed by the judge. They're coming across my desk in the next 30 minutes for approval."

She nods.

Warrants?

Sasuke panicked. There were damning things fucking everywhere!

Konan noticed him bristling. He'd been still otherwise.

"They won't find anything," she says offhandedly.

Yahiko looks up at the camera pointedly, then turns to Sasuke.

"Fuck you smartass. We're locking you up for a long fucking time. Say goodbye to that girlfriend of yours. Think your family has enough money to buy your way out of this one?"

What. Was. _**Happening.**_

Lieutenant Yahiko leaves with a slam of the door.

Sasuke's handcuffed hands grip the metal table. His fingers white.

"I need a cigarette."

Konan gives him a bitchy glance, her attention once again on her docket.

"There's no smoking in here," she says.

"Do I look like a give a fuck?"

She smirks.

* * *

Nagato gets sent to clean up the warehouse.

Karin spots him strolling through the elevator of the loft from over her shoulder and does a double take. She is panicking in her chair. She's midbite on a noodle, the chopsticks raised halfway to her face, when she spits out what's already in her mouth, chokes, then rolls back away from her desk.

"Auntie's gonna be super pissed that you're here," he says as he advances.

"What the fuck? Don't you work for the police?!" she sputters.

She's holding her chopsticks now like a weapon, the cup of noodles loosely gripped in her other hand, her mouth wide with shock.

"Depends on the day. Get up," Nagato says as he reaches her. He drags her up and off of her chair by the back of her shirt, the chair rolling out with the movement.

"Where's that purple eyed asshat that's too much of a pussy to call himself your boyfriend?" he asks, shaking her a bit, then letting her go.

She stumbles, affronted.

He pushes the now unoccupied chair closer to the desk with his foot, then sits in it himself, facing her. His legs are spread, his hands tucked into the pockets of his zip-up.

Karin is stammering in indignation from where she's rooted her feet to the ground, a good distance away from him.

"Wha—how dare yo— _ugh_!"

He gives her an inscrutable look.

"A lot of your shit looks too close to my old signature. I don't," he leans forward, "like that."

Karin goes pale. He had taught her most of what she knew about coding, hacking and programming and that statement had sounded like a thinly veiled threat.

He eyes her for a second more, then swivels himself in the chair so he's facing her computer. He removes his skeletal fingers from his sweater and then pulls on black rubber gloves that he's procured from his back pocket.

He clicks into the computer and opens a directory.

He's in faded grey jeans and a dark purple zip-up hoodie that clashes horribly with his hair. It's mostly zipped, but she can see the dark tattoo of skeletal ribs inked over his actual ribs peeking out from underneath.

He plugs a USB into her computer. The drive has seemingly slid into his hand from the inside of his sleeve.

He scrunches his eyes at her screens, the expression on his gaunt face set in a grimace, then types a couple strings on her keyboard in quick succession.

The displays of the monitors at all three work stations flicker, then turn into colored screens of death.

Suigetsu strolls in from the bathroom, loudly, because he's stupid.

"Oy, you bitch—oh shit."

Nagato inclines his head from where he is seated and side eyes Suigetsu.

Suigetsu knew this guy. If he was the coroner, then this dude was the undertaker. He freezes in place, midstep.

"What the fuck is your freaky narc cousin doing here?!" Suigetsu asks in a panic.

He's pointing shakily at Nagato, then waving his hands frantically at Karin.

"All of your cell phones, devices and weapons in a pile, on the floor. Now," Nagato orders.

He had stood up from the chair to his full height, his bony frame moving around the desks to ensure all of the computers had been wiped and removed from the network.

He looks up from his analysis, eyes roving between Karin and Suigetsu, his flaming red hair swishing about.

"Isn't there a third guy in this shiesty operation you kids had going on here?"

Jugo materializes.

"You too," he points. "Dump it all."

Karin could feel her anxiety setting in. This was bad. Bad. Bad. Really bad.

She turns to drop her noodles and chopsticks on the corner kitchenette. She opens some of the cabinets, and pulls out an excess of external hard drives, ram and USB drives. She nervously walks towards Suigetsu and Jugo and dumps the items on an already accumulating pile on the floor.

Her cousin Nagato was notorious for NOT fucking around. He walks towards the three of them after finishing up at the computers. They are all visibly shook by now and standing awkwardly next to each other.

Nagato was arguably almost as tall as Jugo, but much more slight in build.

He looks down at his watch briefly, the face inwards on his wrist.

"I'm coming back in 20 minutes to arrest you. Don't fucking say shit when I do."

Suigetsu opens his mouth, intending to rebuttal, but since Nagato is eyeing him down with killing intent, he ends up just staring at Karin. He flails his hands around at her again, wordlessly communicating, ' _do something!'_

Gloves still on, Nagato bends over to start shoving all of their gadgets into a bunched up cloth bag he's pulled out of his other back pocket.

"They already have the Uchiha fuckboy in custody," her cousin shares.

He picks up one of Suigetsu's guns and gives it a judgey appraisal before unloading it and disassembling it with fluid expertise. He drops all the parts of the rifle into the bag.

"Even your gun is for pussies," he remarks.

"What?!" Karin bursts, reaction delayed. She's in shock over the news about Sasuke.

Nagato glances up, his dead eyes focused briefly on her before saying, "Stop flipping out mini-me."

"He's with Konan," he continues.

He shoves some hard drives and a spare laptop into the bag.

Her eyes widened.

Konan grew up with her cousin. She wasn't a regular lawyer, she was a _criminal_ lawyer.

"She will be representing you as well. Keep your mouths shut."

He straightened up, done. He gives them and the area a final analytical assessment and then quickly walks back towards the loft's elevator, bag full of physical evidence clutched in his gloved hand.

"20 minutes," he tosses again. Just in case they needed a reminder.

* * *

"What do you know?" Itachi asks concisely.

Sakura can feel a sheen of sweat on her forehead. They are in the kitchen again, sitting across from each other at the table near the bay window. Itachi had stashed the items he'd collected and disassembled in the frame of his car.

Sakura had stood in the front doorway, unsure what the hell her eyes were witnessing. He was bent over at his car, parked in the front drive. He'd popped out the frame of the vehicle's backdoor with a couple hard punches, and then quickly shoved the damning evidence inside before putting the frame back in place.

He'd then driven the car off the property and parked it elsewhere.

" _If it is not on the premises, it is excluded from the constraints of this particular warrant."_

He had been speaking like he already knew what the warrant entailed.

The laptops he had returned to their locations in the house. He'd mentioned that if the laptops were gone, the scene would look too fixed. Without the drives they were worthless as evidence.

Cautiously, she attempted to answer his question.

"Nothing? He was working on a... coding project. With Naruto's cousin. He paid her for freelance? And this other guy worked with them too?"

"That's too much. Try again," he prompts.

He had confiscated his gloves, his hands bare again.

He had informed her that they would more than likely be asked to come in for questioning and that she needed to say the right things.

" _It is unlikely that we will be asked to go in for questioning today. When the warrants come up short, they will look to other avenues for information."_

"Okay. What do you mean?" she asks, needing clarification.

She'd slipped Sasuke's flannel on, her fingers clasping at the edges of the sleeves. The garment swallowed her, falling well past her backside, but she was getting comfort out of being hugged by it right now.

"What was Sasuke up to? Tell me about your boyfriend."

She moves her head up and down.

"All right. He doesn't have a job and sits at home all day. He dropped out of our university freshman year and his brother pays all of his bills."

Itachi is nodding his head at her. His hands are clasped together tightly, resting in front of him on the white table. She can see them reflected in the shininess of the granite.

His expression is very serious.

"We've been together for three years but I've known him for ten. He likes to collect cars and drive them around for fun," she continues.

Itachi nodded again, curtly, "That will suffice. Do not say anything more."

"What if they ask about his... episodes?" she asks.

They hear the screeching of several cars at the end of the road.

She turns to look out the window, people are storming up the drive. Itachi had left the iron gates open for them.

"They won't."

* * *

_TBC..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _We popped off now!_
> 
> _More on the dreaded 'screen of death' if you're unfamiliar with that term: wiki/Screen_of_death_
> 
> _We are def. in collegeAU/hackerAU territory. I don't want to add hackerAU to the description or tags though, since I think it's a spoiler._
> 
> _What do you guys think? Has it been more fun to read through and be surprised by it? Or would you have wanted to know from the jump?_
> 
> _Note that I am not a profesh hacker, so if there are some discrepancies with what it takes to wipe all these systems/get caught, I am sorry. We need my story's Nagato to come in and explain XD._
> 
> _As always, thanks again for reading and your feedback— it's not my style to leave a note, so it might be one of the only times you hear from at length!_
> 
> xoxo,  
> illCat


End file.
